The Copenhagen Solution

My homeboy RS dropped this piece from the Wall Street Journal on me after reading my last post. If you're not inclined to read it - the long and short of it is that there is a group of economists who took the initiative to classify, in order of positive impact, more than a dozen developmental efforts designed to aid third world countries . Their thesis was, in a nutshell, that we (the worlds richest countries) don't have unlimited funds at our disposal and so we must determine how to get the most bang for our buck where these projects are concerned. In my opinion, their findings weren't all that shocking. Things like controlling infectious disease (AIDS, Malaria) and water purification ranked high on the list. The Kyoto protocol (global warming initiatives) ranked last. I wasn't aware of this, but our buddy Tony B from across the pond, actually has the Kyoto protocol at the top of his laundry list for the G8 summit next month. I agree with the Journal that this is a foolish priority in the face of so many other pressing issues. I agree to an extent with their assessment that "...what the developing world needs is better governance, not aid." I agree wholeheartedly that better governance must be a top priority, indeed a requirement, of receiving aid dollars from the G8 countries. I do not subscribe to the notion that we should just write a $100 million dollar check to Sudan, write off their debts to the World Bank and then shake their hand and bid them good day while they continue slaughtering thousands of their own people in Darfur...or Bosnia...or Somalia. That's beyond stupid. There should be some level of accountability from the leadership of these nations in exchange for the money and assistance we give them. My problem with the Journals statement is this: better governance doesn't keep people from starving to death today or tomorrow. More aid dollars can do just that. I would submit, that what the developing world needs is better governance AND more aid. I just don't think that the two can be mutually exclusive. There are too many lives at stake for us to watch the people of Africa starve to death because the despotic regimes they were born under will not turn from their corruption and murdering ways. We have to figure out ways to help them in spite of their government, not just allow them to starve to death because of it. I don't know what the answer is, and I don't claim to be even moderately educated in the political machinations of sub-Saharan African countries. But I do know that that there are children in this world who will not wake up tomorrow morning because of something as mundane as not having clean water to drink. And I know that has got to change.