I read a lot. I'm an information junkie. I'm also a snob with my news; I cannot stand to read or hear about the same things that are repeated 98% of the time by the mass media in this country, by our copious and wonderful 24 hour news networks; so this requires a proactive seeking out of alternative news sources, scouring the dark corners of the web (no, not THOSE dark corners) in search of the other 2%. And they can be found. I do continue to have faith that we, the viewers and readers of the world, do want to hear about more than Obama and Clinton and Spitzer. One of the best, already mentioned, is tucked away in a sleepy little corner of the New York Times opinion pages...On The Ground with Nicholas Kristof.
http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/
Kristof, winner of two Pulitzer prizes, confirmed travel junkie (this is personally comforting, though he went to Harvard first), who could be drawing world attention to anything he chooses, chooses to draw attention to the other 2%, along with his merry band of pranksters, who are constantly writing from the field and from the office on the state of the world, the state of development and the state of inequality, seen through academic, as well as experiential eyes. To understand, and employ this balance is hugely important; the ability to form opinions based on not just what you read and study, but also through first-person experience; I am a strong believer in the power of human contact; so are many others working in the field of international development.
Another face with strong words, also mentioned previously on various occasions due to his fantastic work, both from behind the desk and in the "dirt," is economist (some call him a celebrity economist, but whatever works for you, I'm a fan because he's brilliant, focused, and passionate about something I care deeply about as well) Dr. Jeffrey Sachs.
Rehashing for personal motives (as a constant barrage of negativity encountered about aid, the work of development, etc. slowly works to seep into my mind, along with the Nike and Coke ads), here is a paraphrasing of his arguments (and mine) against the arguments against foreign aid (found in the wonderful work, The End of Poverty)...or, arguments debunked...something to stem the never ending tide of negativity against doing something (or to stem the excuses that people who love excuses love to make). In hopes of dispelling the hopelessness that so often depicts the debate, both internal and external, on the subject, here we go with my very own top five list:
1. "Money Down the Drain"
...Contrary to popular opinion, the amount of aid, or foreign assistance, given to the entire continent of Africa is very small each year. We seem to hide behind the misconception that hundreds of billions, or trillions of dollars, have been misappropriated or wasted. While there has been waste (as is endemic everywhere in the world, even in the "developed" world--think of the $5,000 toilet seats billed by the Pentagon, and on and on), the actual figures are much smaller than most believe. In 2002, the U.S. gave gave $3 per Sub-Saharan African in aid. Taking out the parts for U.S. consultants (who always stay in the best of hotels and travel business class, thank you very much), food and other emergency aid, administrative costs, and debt relief, the aid per African came to the grand total of 6 cents. Think of what you can get for .06$....maybe a stick of gum? A tootsie roll? Certainly not a life changing amount of money; its hardly shocking that many think we have nothing to show for all of our money spent; its hard to get anything for nothing.
2. "Aid Programs Would Fail"
...There are deeply rooted prejudices that Africans are not capable of effectively utilizing aid. The realities on the ground show a different type of reality, a reality that is not dictated by historical prejudice; they show that the people on the ground are hungry for a change, desperate for a chance to break out of the cycle of extreme poverty. People are eager to progress onto the ladder of development, and join the world society-nobody wants to live in total isolation, geographic or economic... (the basic premise of development aid, in my mind, being the giving to people living in poverty the tools and circumstance to advance, and through bringing them up to the lowest rung on the ladder, or bringing the lowest rung of the ladder down to them, enabling empowerment to self-improve). Profound ignorance and prejudice have no place in this modern society-we cannot allow these misconceptions of the past shade the future-all people, regardless of shade, are capable of working hard and implementing important programs.
3. "Corruption is the Culprit"
...Almost all accounts of the situation in Africa, in most of the countries in the region, begin with the same reason-poor governance. This is a narrow minded and ill-informed viewpoint, seeing only one side of a complex equation. We need to balance the equation in this case-understand that poverty and bad governance go hand-in-hand; and need to be tackled hand-in-hand. This is not unique to Africa; it is unique to poverty-stricken countries throughout the developing world. As incomes rise, people become more literate; they are then able to keep the government more honest through an increased ability to act as a watchdog for the government in question. Lets think about this; without an educated middle or upper class in this country, there would be no public dissemination of information, no discussion, no action; would the Boston Tea Party have occurred if the colonialists were illiterate and could not understand the basics of taxation and representation and how these things curtailed their freedoms? Of course not. An educated class is an empowered class; en educated class keeps government honest. This is a vital role of education in modern societies. Second, more income directly invests in better government through tax receipts; the civil service will become better informed, better educated/trained, and more responsive with there is more income and more money in a government's coffers; working in a situation of desperation creates hostility amongst government employees, it creates a mentality of take-it-while-you-can corruption and misuse, as stability in the future of the government is impossible without a constant stream of internalized revenue. Basically, a government that is relying on tax receipts for function, rather than foreign aid, will be held to a much higher standard by its people, who will demand additional accountability if it is "their" money that is being misappropriated. Higher tax revenues also creates opportunity for enhancing all aspects of government service, down to the most low-level civil servant; these public employees become better trained, more professional, more accountable, more stable, and less corrupt.
Africa's governance is poor because Africa is poor. This relationship cannot be ignored for serious analysis and work to occur. Africa shows absolutely no tendency to be more or less corrupt than other countries at the same income and tax generation levels (think, Bangladesh, Haiti, etc.). In fact, looking at the actual data (god forbid!) we can see that there are many above-average African countries in the area of good governance, including Benin, Ghana, Mali,
Malawi, and Senegal.
4. "A Democracy Deficit"
...This is one people, especially Americans, so fond of our democracy and its positive contagious effects around the world, (Shock and Awe!), love to cite. Democracy is the only thing that brings economic possibility; development is impossible without the effects of a free society. While a stern believer in democracy, freedom, and human rights, there is only one word to use in this argument, and that word is, you guessed it, China. China has undergone the most rapid period of economic growth in the history of mankind since Deng Xiaoping declared, "To get rich is glorious!" I won't get into the specific here, but China does not enjoy democracy in any sense of the world, so this pretty much destroys the argument; we can also look at the case of modern Russia, one of the fastest growing economies in the world at the present, which is effectively under one party rule. So there you have two different examples, one a manufacturing economy, one a commodity economy, neither of which has real democratic freedom, both growing at more than quadruple the anemic, almost flat lined, growth of the pillar of Democracy, America. The links between democracy and economic performance are surely weak, even though democracy is surely a boon for human rights and a barrier against large scale killing, torture, and other state abuses.
Additionally debunking this argument is the fact that Africa's share of free and party-free countries, at 66%, actually stands above the average for non-African low-income countries in 2003, at 57%. This has not doubt increased as of late, looking at the political situation in South Asian countries such as Bangladesh and Pakistan, to name a few.
5. "Lack of Modern Values"
...Many people make the misguided assumption that poverty and wealth are simple a reflection of societal values. Not only is this another fine example of prejudice (in a time that many want to believe we have passed this stage, at least in our own county, that is), but it is very narrowly focused and additionally incorrect from a historically educated perspective. Virtually every society that was once poor (yes, this means ALL societies, even the U.S!) has been criticized for being lazy and unworthy until its citizens become rich, at which point their new wealth is explained through industriousness...think of the U.S., pre-Industrial Revolution, a very few rich landowners, many poor peasants...think of Japan, the modern economic powerhouse, second largest economy in the world, and its progression from a "backward" poor feudal society in the 1800's to economic success...think of China! What are the stereotypes attached to all cases? Those on the outside, looking in through moneyed glasses with a critical eye, blaming laziness and incompetence, and the general superiority of their own work ethic, culture, and values.
These critics rarely understand that low productivity results not from laziness and lack of effort, but from the lack of capital inputs to production. A few have begun to understand this, a few visionaries like Mohammud Yunus, who are bringing that very access to capital to areas not previously served through micro credit programs. Stereotypes that Africans work little and therefor are poor are put to rest immediately by spending a day in a rural village, where backbreaking labor by men and women is the norm.
