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governments is a thing of the past. It seems to me that the country, exhausted by extrem-
ism, is determined to be peaceful.
The more I travel, the more it seems to me that different societies (whether El Sal-
vador, Iran, Egypt, China, or the USA) are on parallel evolutionary tracks. Absent impa-
tient external forces, if left to their own devices, societies develop in a way that is good
for their people. As we capitalists believe in the invisible hand of the marketplace, I see
this as the invisible hand of the political arena.
In talking with so many local experts over the years, it has occurred to me that US
liberals coming to Latin America in search of understanding (like me) want the story to
have black-and-white clarity. But the sobering reality is much more complex. Seeing how
things have changed—and yet stayed the same—over more than two decades of visits,
I realize that some of the easy answers I've espoused in the past now seem naive and
unhelpful. I returned home from my latest trip without the clean epilogue I sought. But
at least my visit gave me a sense of optimism: A pluralistic society is trying to work
things out without war. El Salvador is moving fitfully but steadily forward. As Martin
Luther King, Jr., often remarked, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends to-
wards justice.” You can't help but fly home from Central America rooting for its beautiful
people…and wanting to do more.
