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For reference, credible sources estimate a death toll in the millions in the Congo in the last 20 years [1]. Abetted in no small measure, this Bloomberg piece m

For reference, credible sources estimate a death toll in the millions in the Congo in the last 20 years [1]. Abetted in no small measure, this Bloomberg piece makes clear, by Gertler and Glasenberg’s business practices. Two douchebags of galactic scale. It makes me sad and angry that such morality exists. That said, it would be a wonderful thing if the car industry formed a round table ahead of this huge boom to put in place protocols to ensure the missteps of the oil industry are not created again, or do the Glasenbergs and Gertlers of this world win everything? [1] https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.economist.com/briefing/2018/02/15/congos-war-was-bloody-it-may-be-about-to-start-again#ampf=undefined https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.economist.com/briefing/2018...

TAForObvReasons 8y ago
It's the financial world's version of "Move fast and break things", where things in this case are people. That amorality exists in tech too, arguably to a larger extent in places like Facebook
- jeffreyrogers 8y ago
  The problems in the Congo are largely (lack of) government related. Congo is essentially a failed state and there are large parts of Eastern Congo (where most of the mineral wealth is) that are run by militia groups. I'm sure parts of the financial industry and some foreign businesses are engaged in destructive practices, but I view them more as capitalizing on the situation than causing it.
hyperrail 8y ago
There are some positive signs for Dem Rep Congo. This past summer, President/dictator Joseph Kabila finally agreed to step down and hold presidential elections, 2 years after delaying them indefinitely in December 2016. But the opposition to Kabila has so far failed to coalesce around a single candidate to run against Kabila's candidate,[1] and of course there is no guarantee that even if the opposition wins, Kabila will accept the result without a military invasion or threat thereof to force him out, the way Yahya Jammeh in Gambia was pushed out early last year.[2] It's hard not to be cynical about cycles of former rebel leaders and their families setting themselves up as the new dictators, but at least here, things are looking up. [1] https://www.voanews.com/a/congo-opposition-supporters-protest-against-joint-election-candidate/4654994.html https://www.voanews.com/a/congo-opposition-supporters-protes... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECOWAS_military_intervention_in_the_Gambia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECOWAS_military_intervention_i...
- jeffreyrogers 8y ago
  That's potentially good news, but I'm skeptical much will come of it. Places like Congo are still quite tribal[0], which is one reason for the large amount of corruption. When you get power you hand out benefits to your people. In developed democracies we often think the benefits of democracy are self-evident, but we forget the long process it took for our own societies to get to the relatively uncorrupt, pretty well-functioning bureaucracies we have today. Plus, Congo has almost no state to speak of. The country hardly has a road network and the government has a hard time projecting power outside of the cities. I believe the infrastructure was better in the 60s than it is today, but I would have to check my facts to be sure. [0]: I think this will get misinterpreted by some people. I don't mean it in a derogatory way, but as a description of how society is organized in parts of Africa. People can be grouped into tribes and tend to prefer to grant favors and power to those within their tribe. It's like nepotism on a larger scale.

TAForObvReasons 8y ago

It's the financial world's version of "Move fast and break things", where things in this case are people. That amorality exists in tech too, arguably to a larger extent in places like Facebook

jeffreyrogers 8y ago
The problems in the Congo are largely (lack of) government related. Congo is essentially a failed state and there are large parts of Eastern Congo (where most of the mineral wealth is) that are run by militia groups. I'm sure parts of the financial industry and some foreign businesses are engaged in destructive practices, but I view them more as capitalizing on the situation than causing it.

hyperrail 8y ago

There are some positive signs for Dem Rep Congo. This past summer, President/dictator Joseph Kabila finally agreed to step down and hold presidential elections, 2 years after delaying them indefinitely in December 2016. But the opposition to Kabila has so far failed to coalesce around a single candidate to run against Kabila's candidate,[1] and of course there is no guarantee that even if the opposition wins, Kabila will accept the result without a military invasion or threat thereof to force him out, the way Yahya Jammeh in Gambia was pushed out early last year.[2] It's hard not to be cynical about cycles of former rebel leaders and their families setting themselves up as the new dictators, but at least here, things are looking up. [1] https://www.voanews.com/a/congo-opposition-supporters-protest-against-joint-election-candidate/4654994.html https://www.voanews.com/a/congo-opposition-supporters-protes... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECOWAS_military_intervention_in_the_Gambia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECOWAS_military_intervention_i...

jeffreyrogers 8y ago
That's potentially good news, but I'm skeptical much will come of it. Places like Congo are still quite tribal[0], which is one reason for the large amount of corruption. When you get power you hand out benefits to your people. In developed democracies we often think the benefits of democracy are self-evident, but we forget the long process it took for our own societies to get to the relatively uncorrupt, pretty well-functioning bureaucracies we have today. Plus, Congo has almost no state to speak of. The country hardly has a road network and the government has a hard time projecting power outside of the cities. I believe the infrastructure was better in the 60s than it is today, but I would have to check my facts to be sure. [0]: I think this will get misinterpreted by some people. I don't mean it in a derogatory way, but as a description of how society is organized in parts of Africa. People can be grouped into tribes and tend to prefer to grant favors and power to those within their tribe. It's like nepotism on a larger scale.