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Wow that's misleading linkbait. The actual article describes it as philanthropy targeted at availability of contraception, female education, and higher standar

by frisco 17y ago

Wow that's misleading linkbait. The actual article describes it as philanthropy targeted at availability of contraception, female education, and higher standards of living world wide, things that are correlated with lower, more sensible, birth rates. This title makes it sounds like there's a secret organization trying to kill us all.

graemep 17y ago
The secrecy does not make them look good. The best way to slow population growth is simply by making the poor more prosperous. What about some re-distribution of wealth....
- nostrademons 17y ago
  ...which was exactly what Gates proposed. Investment in health and education to raise living standards for the world's poor.
- SwellJoe 17y ago
  What about some re-distribution of wealth.... Which merely exhibits a superstition about money, as though it is separate from what it represents. Merely redistributing money does nothing about the disparity in wealth. Modern wealth is a derivative of education, natural and human resources, ambition, hard work, the rule of law (wealth won't exist for long where the nearest thug can walk away with it unhindered), and other factors. Merely telling governments to force people to "redistribute wealth" won't solve the problems that lead to the wealth inequality between third and first world nations, and the money will merely evaporate, as most aid money evaporates today...into the pockets of local banana republic leaders and their supporters. Fix what's broken about government, education, and ideology, in those third world nations, and you'll solve the wealth gap. There is no way to "redistribute wealth" without redistributing the engines of wealth. And most first worlders, particularly those most successful at creating wealth, aren't going to jump at the chance to live in third world nations.
- TriinT 17y ago
  If you want to distribute your wealth, go ahead, but don't force me to distribute mine... How about creating markets so that the 3rd world farmers could sell their products? So much gospel on free markets and the U.S. and E.U. are still protectionist when it comes to agricultural commodities...

by frisco 17y ago

graemep 17y ago

The secrecy does not make them look good. The best way to slow population growth is simply by making the poor more prosperous. What about some re-distribution of wealth....

nostrademons 17y ago
...which was exactly what Gates proposed. Investment in health and education to raise living standards for the world's poor.
SwellJoe 17y ago
What about some re-distribution of wealth.... Which merely exhibits a superstition about money, as though it is separate from what it represents. Merely redistributing money does nothing about the disparity in wealth. Modern wealth is a derivative of education, natural and human resources, ambition, hard work, the rule of law (wealth won't exist for long where the nearest thug can walk away with it unhindered), and other factors. Merely telling governments to force people to "redistribute wealth" won't solve the problems that lead to the wealth inequality between third and first world nations, and the money will merely evaporate, as most aid money evaporates today...into the pockets of local banana republic leaders and their supporters. Fix what's broken about government, education, and ideology, in those third world nations, and you'll solve the wealth gap. There is no way to "redistribute wealth" without redistributing the engines of wealth. And most first worlders, particularly those most successful at creating wealth, aren't going to jump at the chance to live in third world nations.
TriinT 17y ago
If you want to distribute your wealth, go ahead, but don't force me to distribute mine... How about creating markets so that the 3rd world farmers could sell their products? So much gospel on free markets and the U.S. and E.U. are still protectionist when it comes to agricultural commodities...