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July 10, 2005
The Devastating Urge to Do Good
As G8 leaders congratulate themselves for righteously agreeing to spend $50 billion of our money to nurture Africa's problems, let's hope no one rains on the parade by showing them Spiegel's recent interview with Kenyan Economist James Shikwati (link compliments of Wiggins).
"For God's sake, please just stop," says Shikwati, on the topic of Western aid to his continent. He points out that the countries that have collected the most aid are the ones in the worst shape. He explains how aid makes everything worse:
Huge bureaucracies are financed (with the aid money), corruption and complacency are promoted, Africans are taught to be beggars and not to be independent. In addition, development aid weakens the local markets everywhere and dampens the spirit of entrepreneurship that we so desperately need. As absurd as it may sound: Development aid is one of the reasons for Africa's problems. If the West were to cancel these payments, normal Africans wouldn't even notice. Only the functionaries would be hard hit. Which is why they maintain that the world would stop turning without this development aid.
It would hardly seem to require a degree in economics to grasp that dumping tons upon tons of free food on the African market doesn't contribute much to the profitability of African farming. Every time the UN dumps its free food, more African farmers go under, guaranteeing another famine next year. Clothing donations have had a similar effect on Africa's textile industry.
In response to the argument that people will go hungry without the aid, Shikwati points out that if the handouts were cut off, not only would African farming stand a chance of developing, so would trade between African nations. As Shikwati observes, sub-Saharan Africa is very well endowed with natural resources. Without external meddling, there is no reason to think substantial wealth could not be generated — once Africans learn to stand on their own two feet.
Shikwati quotes Jean Bedel Bokassa, former tyrant of the Central African Republic, as summing up the economic situation like this:
The French government pays for everything in our country. We ask the French for money. We get it, and then we waste it.
The reason that the standard of living is higher in America than it is in Africa is not because we have more abundant resources. It is because we have a market economy and do not rely on the UN to feed us. There is no reason Africans couldn't be living the way Americans live. According to Shikwati, the best way to accomplish this would be by completely halting development aid. "Unfortunately," says Shikwati, "the Europeans' devastating urge to do good can no longer be countered with reason."
There can be no serious question that the development of free, self-sustaining economies would do Africa infinitely more good than any amount of Western handouts. The question is whether the G8 leaders — and the rock stars who goad them into flushing our money away — are primarily interested in helping Africans, or in promoting their do-gooder images.
Posted by Van Helsing at July 10, 2005 7:37 PM
Comments
You really should get the pre-emptive strike machine fired up to aim at Leonard Clark, who is in the military, in Iraq. He had this to say: Who loves America more? Someone who disagrees with the war, but risks his life in Iraq and does his duty trying to protect civilians and his fellow soldiers?
Or someone who advocates strongly for the war, but would rather stay home and write a right-wing blog than actually serve?"
Posted by: Rob B. at July 10, 2005 10:30 PM
O.K. Rob, using that same "logic," should Democrats who oppose vouchers for poor people because they "support public schools" be forced to send their kids to public schools?
Anyway, Chris Hitchens' slapped down that lame-brain "chickenhawk" canard here, much better than I could.
And frankly, both examples support the war better than lame, self-righteous, lefties who call the troops "Nazis, Soviets in their gulags," and have nothing better to do than throw insults at those who genuinely do support the troops, or who scapegoat the troops and the war for their deranged hatred of the administration.
Posted by: V the K at July 11, 2005 5:51 AM
As for Africa, the place has been a continent-wide experiment in socialism for over forty years. As a result, the typical African country has Swedish-style taxes, Soviet-style government, and Mexican-style corruption. The only people enriched by throwing money into that arena are the despots who run those countries, the aid organizations that get cushy sinecure jobs from writing the checks, and the Swiss bankers where the money ends up.
The only aid African countries should possibly get should be direct assistance. If they need a road built, we build them a road. If they need a power plant, we build them a power plant. We don't give them money to build roads and power plants that ends up in the pockets of corrupt bureaucrats. That way, at least some American companies and workers would get jobs out of the deal.
And even that aid should be conditional on reform in the country receiving it, and should not go to any country that consistently opposes us in the UN and elsewhere.
Posted by: V the K at July 11, 2005 6:12 AM
What the people of Africa need is freedom and liberty. Self sustaining economies would be the outcome of an environment where people would be free to pursue thier ideals. Some short-term aid may be necessary to certain countries while getting on thier "economic" feet. Of course, these over-dressed Al Sharpton type scam artist would have to go. They become extremely wealthy making us feel guilty about thier starving subjects. Same scams are running in this country.
Posted by: Eneils Bailey at July 11, 2005 3:47 PM
I read this interview, and it's spot on. Throwing money at a bunch of thieves and then wondering why Africa is still poor makes me wonder why we're still viable, if this is how leaders of the Western world think. Free market economies are the way to self-reliance and a healthy economy. What is so hard to understand?
Posted by: Pam M. at July 11, 2005 3:54 PM
To make things even more pathetic the G8 donated 3 billion dollars to the PA (former PLO) to develop more efficient Qassam rockets.
Lovely.
Posted by: Felis at July 11, 2005 6:49 PM
http://www.dubyasworld.com/dubya-two-sh1ts.jpg
Dubya's World -- humorous captioned pictures of George W. Bush -- Dubya Two Sh1ts
Posted by: Rob B. at July 11, 2005 10:58 PM
"Humorous" in the same sense that the Alan Alda-directed episodes of M*A*S*H were "humorous."
Posted by: V the K at July 12, 2005 10:38 AM
I'm getting pretty sick of millionaire celebreties howling about how the US doesn't give enough of our GDP to whatever the chic and trendy cause of the day happens to be.
Posted by: rightwingprof at July 16, 2005 4:58 PM
