ship of fools heading for africa

Sabine Barnhart looks at the good intentions but bad policy of Bob Geldof and others who want to "forgive" the debt of African nations.

...Even Bono of U2 was quoted in an AP report as having exclaimed that the focus over the past 20 years since Live Aid has changed. "It’s the journey from charity to justice," he said. These are big words that have the all too familiar ring of good intentions. The overall belief held by many people with good intentions for poorer countries is the idea of injustice being caused by wealthier nations during colonial times. However, evidence shows that most poverty in Africa and other poorer countries is created by Marxist ideology and oppressive actions of reigning governments. Among the African nations that currently suffer from poverty are countries like Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, and Sudan...

...Africa lacks many important factors that we take for granted in the West. As Professor (Walter) Williams points out, it lacks the rule of law, private property rights, and independent judiciary and limited government. The visible evidence is in the poverty of the population and its continual warring of dictators, rebels and tyrants.

Africa is one of the richest continents with most of its treasures still unearthed. It holds natural resources of iron ore, copper, coal, uranium, tin, phosphate, diamonds and gold. It can produce cotton, coffee, tea, cocoa and fruit with plenty of livestock. The possibilities are unlimited. Only, little can be done when resources are controlled by oppressive governments with no intentions to promote the well-being of their people by allowing them to accumulate wealth through private ownership...

...Geldof has good intentions in raising awareness of poverty, but his focus is on the wrong issue. Re-distributing wealth to keep the balance is as unnatural as trying to stop the Sahara desert wind from blowing sand into sand dunes. It is not possible. His energy would be better served if he can bring awareness of the danger of big government, controlling trade (he supports fair trade) and the danger of socialism; a more democratic offspring of communism. These are all contributing factors to poverty and starvation...

There's much more so check out the whole column. Also, this excellent piece by Pat Buchanan from a couple of weeks ago covers the same issue, but focuses on the corruption and incompetence of the international lending agencies, namely the IMF, World Bank and African Development Bank, and how the whole ugly process of debt relief really amounts to fleecing the taxpayers of the wealthier nations to bail out these bankers so they can continue, ever unaccountable, to make more bad loans. But that's OK, don't worry, we'll all sit back and watch the stars perform at Live 8, feeling good about ourselves because we care so much.