At 10:58 PM Wednesday 7/30/2008, Jon Louis Mann wrote: >dan, of course ancient societies had little control over their >lives, but we live in the 21st century now, and it still goes on. i >am not denying that wealth can be created and technology increases >production. it is also unquestionable that medical science, diet >and other factors have increased life spans and infant mortality. > >there are still a few places left in the world where hunter gatherer >societies are poor to the point of starvation, and barely eke out >survival. even low tech subsistence agriculture, using the yak >drawn plow, donkeys pulling heavily loaded carts, or women carrying >heavy loads on their back, all increase the carrying capacity of the >land. of course no where near as much as agribusiness methods where >the profit motive forces more and more people to live in squalor in >the cities. industrialization provides jobs for some, at barely >subsistence wages. doesn't make it right. > >as for trade, i obtained my information from a lifetime of traveling >and living in poor countries. people will work for pennies an hour >to avoid starvation. doesn't make it right. i grew up in japan in >the 50s and we paid our maid a dollar a day, which was more than she >made as a teacher. in the late 70s i rented a villa in egypt from >a former ambassador for two hundred dollars a month. i didn't know >it came with a family living under the house who would clean, shop, >fill the house with flowers, etc., all for "baksheesh". if i did >not keep them, the family would be homeless and destitute. doesn't >make it right. ball point pens and cigarettes were a form of >currency, i don't know why. > >i have written here before about my experience in tchad. we hear a >lot about "free" trade, but what about FAIR trade? i understand >that trade barriers can be devastating to undeveloped countries. i >blame their own governments as much as western countries and >neo-colonialism for the utter poverty that still exists in many >countries, just as it still exists in some parts of america. > >i don't know how to end poverty in these countries, but we are not >saviors because we buy diamonds and sell weapons in countries where >genocide is still being practiced. > >should we not send aid because much of it is sent does not reach >those who need it, but ends up in the black market, or even helps >dictators remain in power, or should we require it is distributed >humanely, as under the auspices of organizations like the peace corps? > >religious institutions exploit people who are starving into becoming >slaves to faith. doesn't make it right. trade may be the first >step, but when it provides money that must go through dishonest >politicians first, doesn't make it right. of course it is worse for >the poorest countries who have next to no exports, or just resources >that end up profiting corrupt officials, like i saw in tchad. > >nations like china and india profit from trade with the western >world, and will eventually be driving cars, watching television, >etc. countries like japan and korea have improved the lot of their >people, as they emulate the capitalist model. mexico now has the >richest man in the world and more and more billionaires per capita. > >yet, many countries still allow forced child labor and other forms >of economic slavery, so americans can shop at walmart. you can't >tell me there is nothing wrong with an economic system that >justifies this sort of neo-colonialism in the name of offering as >little money as the market will bear for human labor or raw >materials, because people can either take it or starve? what kind >of choice is that? >jon
One obvious-seeming answer is to start by getting rid of the dishonest politicians, but then some people would complain about "invasions" and "nation-building" again . . . . . . ronn! :) _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
