Live 8 Futility

Over the weekend many thousands witnessed a prime example of wrong-headed leftist thinking in action: Millionaire American and European rockers decided the best way to help Africa is to force governments of successful countries to increase taxes on ordinary citizens and give the money to the benighted African peasants. You know, those unfortunate Africans who, through no fault of their own, are poor. At least that’s how they see it, in their drug-dulled thinking. Sir Paul McCarthy and Sir Bob Geldof seem painfully unaware that the vast majority of monetary aid given to Africa does no good at all. This is not to say there aren’t many very reputable charitable organizations who try their level best to do good there. Most of the nation-to-nation aid doesn’t go to these charities because they are religious (read Christian) in nature and we can’t have governments helping any people like that. The money Sir Paul and Sir Bob want to extort would not go to poor people at all. The rockers want to waste it; or more accurately they want to take money from you and me to give to corrupt dictators like Robert Mugabe. Of course, none of the rockers ever give very much to charity themselves. In fact they each were given $12,000 in luxury gift items for their participation in this charity event. Some sacrifice! The hypocrisy of this aside, the worst thing is that they are so painfully wrong about what would really help in Africa. They don’t seem to have a clue about the role of charity. While it’s all well and good to donate money to true charities, to help out human beings who really are incapable of helping themselves, doing that will never help a nation into prosperity. It doesn’t work that way. It never has in the whole history of human kind. Can anyone give an example of a successful civilization built on the charity of another? No! It doesn’t happen. It can’t happen!! That’s not how nations are built. It’s a fine thing to do, to give money to the churches to help Aids orphans, but that’s not what Sir Paul and Sir Elton want. No, the sirs aren’t interested in encouraging people to give money to charity. That’s not really what they’re about. Instead, they are only interested in forcing higher taxes on you and me. An article of faith for leftists world-wide: taxes can never be too high. After all, this isn’t really about helping Africans. This is about punishing Western nations, most especially the United States.

The problem in Africa is not monetary. The problem is cultural. Africa will never overcome its poverty problem until it eradicates its corruption problem. This really has been demonstrated over and over and is no longer subject to dispute. Billions and billions of dollars have been thrown at Africa by earnest government do-gooders year after year after year and what is the result? Africa is worse-off now. Welfare as an institution, as has been demonstrated over and over again, will never solve poverty. Only the genuine, self-serving efforts of the African people to help themselves will ever begin to solve their problems. Self interest is the most powerful anti-poverty tool ever devised. That’s how all western countries achieved the wealth and prosperity they enjoy. Unfortunately Mugabe and all other modern African leaders have not followed that path. Instead they have followed the pattern of dozens of their predecessors and contemporaries: start the revolution, overthrow the existing government, and then become even more corrupt and oppressive. This is the continent-wide fate of nation after nation in Africa. The truth about Africa is plain to see for anybody willing to look: Measured in terms of nutrition, health, education, gross national product and general well-being, Africa was far better under the colonial rule of Britain and France than it is now. Painful to say, but nonetheless true. Until Africa realizes that it will have to build itself up, they are doomed to poverty, corruption and failure. And no amount of ageing rockers can make one bit of difference about it.