This is a follow-up to this post.
Any discussion on development must start from the admission of ignorance. We do not know why the rich are rich. We do not know why the poor are poor. But the United Nations and most development agencies refuse to accept that there are no silver bullets for poverty alleviation. There are no easy solutions.
Development agencies want to save people. But the poor do not want to be saved. Poor people are like me. They have made some bad decisions. They have had some bad luck. And at the end of the day, they, like me, want to face the consequences of their decisions and luck. They do not want "free" money thrown at them. They want opportunity. They want a chance to succeed. These are difficult things to give.
Development agencies do not bother to understand the poor. All they do is pity the poor. This pity makes the poor bitter. It makes the poor angry. It makes the poor poorer. The poor do not want to be saved, and just like with me, the things they do want cannot be achieved through monetary contributions from foreign donors.
My Dad has been in the microfinance business for years. He has lent thousands of dollars to poor people in our community. He gets most of his money back. He says his secret is that he screens wisely, and he always treats the borrowers with respect. He calls it treating "men like men."
Ivy League economists, Bono, and all the others calling for greater aide to the developing world do not have enough respect for the poor to treat "men like men." Instead of admitting their ignorance, they cling to Utopian dreams. They cling to their arrogance.
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First of all - is poverty alleviation through financial assistance even posible? Right now I'm picturing an infinite limit math problem.
I do not know the extent of development agency governance.....BUT, I think development agencies should be more closely regulated.
Decisions related to the development of poor nations should not be the granted to the nation who gives the most money.
Nor do I think that development standards or goals should be set by the rich nations.
I wonder if someone has ever calculated the finance problem that compares the expected overall international aid required over time to alleviate world poverty - vs. utilzing something such as substantial international military enforcement coupled with aid programs for a set period of time to ensure policies are enforced/reinforced?
This issue will never go away in terms of famine, disease, and overpopulation.
BUT, ironically, I bet that in the distant future, there will also be people protesting and crying because children in Africa don't have laptops or access to the internet.
GGM
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