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I think Gates means well and it's commendable how he puts his money where his mouth is. But, blank aid only works as a a temporary fix. What drives society out
by alecco 7y ago
I think Gates means well and it's commendable how he puts his money where his mouth is. But, blank aid only works as a a temporary fix.
What drives society out of poverty is a mix of reasonably levels of free markets, respect of private property, security, affordable health, low corruption, low marginal economy, and a stable law system.
Aid seems to be counter-productive in the long run because it kills the local markets and makes people dependent on it.
- AmericanChopper 7y agoGood points, but the commonly stated objective of philanthropy is to solve entire categories of problems. You could go on giving billions of dollars to the poor just so they can get by, and eventually that money would run out, and if the people you were helping weren’t worse off, they likely wouldn’t be much better off by then. But money spent on attempting to eradicate malaria for example doesn’t have the same dynamics. There are also other forms of just regular old charity that have a similar ROI. Money spent on educating children had a tremendous ROI, so does investment in infrastructure.
- alecco 7y agoWe should work on helping people have the money to buy malaria medicine or whatever they need. This is a long term fix.
- jfoster 7y agoActually, some of the problems he's tackling will unshackle certain parts of the world. It's hard for societies to lift themselves when they are encumbered by diseases. If they can free themselves from that situation, they'll do a lot better in future.
- jonathanstrange 7y agoYou seriously underestimate the work of the Gates Foundation. It's not about aid as a temporary fix at all and they are well aware of the problems you mention.
- dennis_jeeves 7y ago>What drives society out of poverty is a mix of reasonably levels of free markets, respect of private property, security, affordable health, low corruption, low marginal economy, and a stable law system. alecco, I personally fully agree with you. Unfortunately most people do not see that way. People on an average cannot mentally work out the chain of outcomes for a given variable. Thing like respect of private property and free market are way further in the chain than a donation or the overrated 'education'.