Why the World Bank Sucks!
If the World Bank really wants to help third countries, they can start by ensuring that every third world country has free and publically accessible potable water for every citizen in the country.
To provide clean drinking water to all individuals, is a short step to irrigation which is a short step to argriculture, which is a short step to a local self-sustaining economy.
Clean drinking water also means freedom from many communicable disease.
In the long run, if the world has more self-sustaining economies, large western corporation would have more "good consumers" to sell to. Instead, all the world bank has now is a bunch of bad debts and a bunch of indivduals living below the poverty line, wanting to buy things that they can't afford.
To provide clean drinking water to all individuals, is a short step to irrigation which is a short step to argriculture, which is a short step to a local self-sustaining economy.
Clean drinking water also means freedom from many communicable disease.
In the long run, if the world has more self-sustaining economies, large western corporation would have more "good consumers" to sell to. Instead, all the world bank has now is a bunch of bad debts and a bunch of indivduals living below the poverty line, wanting to buy things that they can't afford.
posted by yp | 11:06:00 AM
2 Comments on "Why the World Bank Sucks!":
I'm not sure about the World Bank, but I do know that many well-meaning people think to provide third-world countries "essentials" that really aren't essential until you're in an industrial or post-industrial country. Universal health care? Schooling children? Great ideas, anyone who would say nay would look like a villian... in a first-world nation. Sub-100 US$ computers, wifi connections? That's, uh, nice, but how about we take care of the 33-year average life expectancy first?
yp has the right idea: when people have clean water, they can live long enough to build towns, and they can grow enough food to have a surplus. This leads to spare labour, which can be used for education or trade goods, and trade goods becomes $$$ that the World Bank really cares about.
It's the economy, stupid, and the economy starts earlier than money -- it starts with people.
Water purifiers are cheap, too. Consider it a long-term capital investment in foreign markets.
The World Bank has no $$ incentives to help these people get out of their crap holes. It's in their best interest to keep status quo, but make it appear as if they're doing something. It's about time, people see through these elitist bastards.
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