6 ms·

What exactly is stopping 3rd world countries from doing that?

• zapita 7y ago
  Third world countries have already financed the draining of European swamps. It’s the wealth stolen in Asia, Africa and America that made those public works projects possible in the first place. The reason former colonies haven’t been able to do the same at home is because their society and economy are permanently crippled by colonization.
  • tway111 7y ago
    Now those are some strong claims to be backed with some nice fat sources.
  • pygy_ 7y ago
    Not sure why you're being downvoted. Colonization, was brutal, self-serving, and its economic consequences are still felt to this day (especially when neocolonialism through private corporations and puppet governments is still a thing).
    • thaumasiotes 7y ago
      It's probably this incredible nonsense: >> The reason former colonies haven’t been able to do the same at home is because their society and economy are permanently crippled by colonization. Here's an interesting passage from Early China: A Social and Cultural History ( https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GA22L0E/ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GA22L0E/ ): > Even when we are talking only about the areas that can be considered as part of Early China, back in a time when "China" as a nation was still in her infancy, we find that more cultural developments had taken place in the valleys and strips of plains that are surrounded by mountains and plateaus on the second step mentioned above, or on the transitional belts along the major mountain ranges, but not at the centers of the floodplains located in the east. The reason for this development was simply ecological, given the fact that in the second millennium BC most of the eastern China plains were still covered by marshes and lakes[2], and the coastline in some sections was at least 150 km inland from today's seashores. The pre-Qin texts record the names of more than forty marshes or lakes on the North China Plain, most of which had dried out after the third century AD. In fact, for millennia the North China Plain was continuously caught in the process of sedimentation by the Yellow River which carried on its way east huge quantities of earth from the topographical second step [areas 1-2 km above sea level]. > [2] Even in the historical period, it was recorded that the Yellow River had changed its course some twenty-six times. The Yellow River killed vast numbers of Chinese who farmed its banks, even being given the name "China's sorrow". But efforts were made: > Over time, as the bottom of the channel gradually rose, the river overflowed its banks. Dikes were built ever higher to prevent flooding, and in some places the river started to flow above the surrounding countryside. Today, in a stretch of about 1,100 miles, the Yellow River moves along 11 yards above the plain. > Under the Qin and Han empires [roughly 200 BC - 200 AD], the Yellow River was the core of Chinese civilization, home to around 90 percent of the population. ( https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003TXT09W/ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003TXT09W/ ) During that period, the Chinese hadn't really settled farther south, because... it was full of swamps. But the swamps were drained, the people moved in, and the Yangtze River basin and areas further south had become the demographic center of China by the end of the Tang dynasty in, um, 900 AD. Tang China was probably the wealthiest country in the world at that time. But it was much poorer than any country today. Warring States China in 400 BC was much poorer than that. So no, no one has been "permanently crippled by colonization", and if they had, draining the local swamps would still be well within their means.
      • Nasrudith 7y ago
        You kind of proved the point though because century time scales are involved then instead of decades for the project. I would certainly call "multigenerational when others can do it in one" crippled.
        • Avamander 7y ago
          But not permanently crippled.
          • zapita 7y ago
            As pygy_ explained above, colonialism has morphed into "neocolonialism through private corporations and puppet governments". That is a symptom of the widening gap in power between former colonies and former colonizers. That gap is compounding over time, making it harder and harder for former colonies to catch up. In that sense, the crippling effects of colonization are still felt today, and are continuing to grow with no end in sight.
            • beat 7y ago
              What makes you think the gap is compounding? Is that fact-based, or feelings-based? I'd recommend reading Factfulness, by Hans Rosling. It'll cause you to rethink some things. edit: Here's an interesting fact for you. In the late 1990s, the global extreme poverty rate (around $1.80/day in today's dollars) was 29%. Today, it's under 9%. We've wiped out two thirds of the world's extreme poverty in twenty years. https://www.gapminder.org/topics/extreme-poverty-trend/ https://www.gapminder.org/topics/extreme-poverty-trend/
              • zapita 7y ago
                > What makes you think the gap is compounding? Is that fact-based, or feelings-based? What a strange way to engage in a debate. I already explained why I think the gap is compounding. Feel free to offer a constructive rebuttal if you disagree. > We've wiped out two thirds of the world's extreme poverty in twenty years. That is fantastic. How does it relate to the compounding power gap we’re discussing?
• beat 7y ago
  I dunno. What do you think is stopping them? My home state of Minnesota jokes about mosquitoes being our state bird, but I have zero risk of catching malaria from them. That's because malaria isn't carried by our native mosquitoes. So our cost of mitigation is rather lower.