8 ms·

I'd agree direct cash is underused. But, Buffett's call is for "trying out concepts that shatter current structures and systems that have turned much of the wor

by gojomo 13y ago

I'd agree direct cash is underused. But, Buffett's call is for "trying out concepts that shatter current structures and systems that have turned much of the world into one vast market". That's both grander and vaguer than the simple (and market-reenforcing) direct cash approach. Buffett is so vague that people are seeing in it whatever they want to see.

kylebrown 13y ago
> Buffett is so vague that people are seeing in it whatever they want to see. This is true. And anyway, here's a couple of things I see. The first is a failed (or at least truncated) attempt at articulating the concept of Structural Violence[1]. I'm surprised he got so far as publishing this op-ed, without having been told to read anything by Paul Farmer. At least it appears he hasn't, even though Farmer is quite well-known. I know George Soros counts himself as a member of the Farmer school. The second thing I see is Buffet slipping into the trap of armchair "big-picture" philosophizing. This is what Esther Duflo warned against in the very beginning of her poverty course on edx.org (she has also given a TED talk). Trying to make grand, blanket statements or generic judgements about aid as a whole, is a flawed exercise. Duflo holds up two books as the prime examples of this fallacy: The End of Poverty by Jeffrey Sachs, and White Man's Burden by Will Easterly. Fixating on big-questions and big-answers clouds thinking and hampers action. Instead, Duflo teaches a clinical approach as infinitely more productive. Ask specific questions, conduct trials and collect data. Doing experiments and making observations is a much better way to discover truth than thinking your way through an extremely tangled web of armchair philosophizing. 1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structural_violence http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structural_violence

by gojomo 13y ago

kylebrown 13y ago

> Buffett is so vague that people are seeing in it whatever they want to see. This is true. And anyway, here's a couple of things I see. The first is a failed (or at least truncated) attempt at articulating the concept of Structural Violence[1]. I'm surprised he got so far as publishing this op-ed, without having been told to read anything by Paul Farmer. At least it appears he hasn't, even though Farmer is quite well-known. I know George Soros counts himself as a member of the Farmer school. The second thing I see is Buffet slipping into the trap of armchair "big-picture" philosophizing. This is what Esther Duflo warned against in the very beginning of her poverty course on edx.org (she has also given a TED talk). Trying to make grand, blanket statements or generic judgements about aid as a whole, is a flawed exercise. Duflo holds up two books as the prime examples of this fallacy: The End of Poverty by Jeffrey Sachs, and White Man's Burden by Will Easterly. Fixating on big-questions and big-answers clouds thinking and hampers action. Instead, Duflo teaches a clinical approach as infinitely more productive. Ask specific questions, conduct trials and collect data. Doing experiments and making observations is a much better way to discover truth than thinking your way through an extremely tangled web of armchair philosophizing. 1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structural_violence http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structural_violence