Why Sri Lanka failed in “Socialism” — CIA viewpoint

Unaffordable Socialism in Sri Lanka

(February 7, 2017, Boston — Hong Kong SAR, Sri Lanka Guardian)  “Sri Lanka is a no-growth welfare state, which until recently could get by with minimal foreign assistance. This situation is changing, in part because of  Colombo’s  chronic neglect of its key agricultural sector,  in part because of the higher costs of  Imported oil and grain,” a declassified CIA paper noted.

“Rice production, which increased steadily during l 965-70, has failed to increase further since 1970. The country’s heavy dependence on imported grain and petroleum and its inability to expand exports have forced stringent controls on nonfood imports and an increased reliance on short-term foreign loans”, it added.

“The government shows no signs of shifting toward growth-oriented policies. Failure to generate growth has worsened widespread unemployment and has eroded welfare programme”, the paper monitored.

The declassified paper is reproduced below;

Socialism_SriLanka_CIA.pdf by Thavam Ratna on Scribd