"Poverty is a Bad Thing"
Now that Live 8 has come and gone, it behooves us to look at what people are saying in its aftermath. I mean, this was an event that was intended to spotlight the problem of extreme poverty in Africa and pressure the upcoming G8 leaders to "do something" about it (i.e. throw more money at the problem). So what's the actual response?
1. "Westminster Council says the estimated 150 tons of rubbish generated by the Live 8 crowd would be the amount normally collected in around 10 days."
2. "What do participating musicians know about Africa?" asked Susan Outa, a student in Nairobi. "How do we know whether half of them have even visited a single African country?"
3. "Geldof and company will lay claim to the very last thing so many Africans own: our problems. And it will be terrible and evil beyond imagining for owning your problem is at the heart of what it is to be human. It is when we wrestle and suffer and triumph over our problems that we are most human, but this alas is not to be if the soul stealers on show succeed . . . If only that snot nosed boy with a Kwashiorkor-distended belly and perhaps a couple of bullet wounds knew how many people he feeds, clothes and houses in luxury. If only he knew how much aid he has given to the washed out, mediocre types who clamor to help him."
4. "So to set these unfortunate ones free of bondage, we must party hard, and sing and dance into the wee hours of the morning? Will this entertainment package really bring peace to the multitude of displaced and war-wary Africans? Will debt cancellation and aid emancipate the poverty- and disease-stricken children in Africa?"
5. "My blog received more than 100 letters of complaint about MTV and its failure to present the music with the dignity and class it deserved. I got another 50 to my personal e-mail. The commercials and mind-numbing veejays were a blight on what should have been an inspirational, informational and cultural event."
6. "Aid dollars don't eliminate poverty - integration into a global economy does . . . If the goal of Live 8 were to help people see the African continent as a place they want to visit, a place they want to open businesses in, a place they want to engage with, as opposed to a place they want to save, I'd be more likely to (view Live 8 with) hope.
7. "I share (an) ambivalence about the celebrity causes thing. Debt relief is a potentially good thing (if properly implemented). But it's a potentially good thing on its own merits, not just because Bono or Bob Geldof says so.
8. "The choice of artistes has itself not be free from controversy, with some criticising it as an attempt to revive the careers of fading stars."
9. "My message to the G8 leaders is that this is their chance to make a lot of difference in the world and to come back fulfilling their promises rather than coming back with empty promises. This is their chance to show the world politics is not just showbusiness for ugly people."
10. "Marty Gradwell from Whitby, Ontario, said he came to the Canadian gig "to rock out and enjoy the start of a warm summer." Asked what prompted the worldwide music extravaganza, he could only venture a guess. "For AIDS in Afghanistan, is it?"
And Tim Blair has an excellent post on how the problems with Africa stem not from poverty but from corruption, and that poverty is the by-product of the corruption.
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
"If all the celebrities (that were sitting in a VIP tent that was set up by Philadelphia Restaurant god -Stephen Starr -that was an exact replica of his Buddakan Restaurant which just won Best in Philly) wrote a check instead of picking up a microphone, they could probably afford to buy meds for the whole damn continent..."
OFF-TOPIC:
I didn't know this (and thanks to the Powerline guys for pointing it out): ". . . of the 26 terrorists who were listed as "most wanted" as of December 2003, 23 are dead or in captivity."
That made my day.
Comments
Strong and lucid analysis as always. THIS is precisely why I wanted you in the Live8 roundtable conversation on Sunday!
Posted by: Scott | July 5, 2005 6:21 PM
Problem is, decades of handouts to Africa have made its nations weaker and more dependent, not more free.
The delusion that one person exists for the benefit of another, or should be made to do so, is antithetical to conservatism, and the key flaw in our own country's political operating system as it stands today.
Altruism and all of it's theo-illogical/atheistic variants have killed more people in the last hundred years than all the plagues of history.
__________________
Homocon sez:
I was just discussing the "poverty/corruption" issue with a coworker this morning. When I brought up that Bob Geldoff was saying that the corruption in Africa is a result of the poverty, rather than the poverty being a result of the corruption, he pointed out that poverty is irrelevant to the issue of corruption. Once corruption exists, you can't solve it by throwing even more money at it -- which is what Live 8 is asking the G8 summit to do. In essence, the whole celebrity cause behind Live 8 is a championing of policies that will only increase corruption and graft.
*sigh* -- whatever happened to a good CIA-operated coup?
Posted by: Ted | July 6, 2005 7:26 AM
I couldn't agree with you more. Excellent research and presentation of some very powerful statements.
Posted by: marco | July 6, 2005 2:51 PM
WHAT A BUNCH OF RICH PRICKS YOU MUST BE.GET OFF YOUR HIGH HORSE.YOU SHOULD LEAVE THE COUNTRY CLUB MORE OFTEN AND SEE WHAT THE REAL WORLD IS LIKE.
Posted by: RORY | August 1, 2005 6:14 AM