Comments on Sentient Developments: Rebooting Haiti: Eliminating poverty to reduce the...

Why amazed? My argument isn't that countries can't...

2010-02-14T08:11:39.621-05:00

Why amazed? My argument isn't that countries can't or shouldn't develop - it's that outsiders have a terrible track record of trying to intervene to save countries where things are going horribly wrong.

We should work to end poverty of course, but use methods that are likely to work. Immigration is the only solution with a good track record. I'd like to see us investigate charter cities as well.

Thanks for the supportive comment, Stuart. I'm als...

2010-02-03T15:44:37.006-05:00

Thanks for the supportive comment, Stuart. I'm also dismayed by some of the comments here.

I am amazed by some of the comments here. We of al...

2010-02-03T15:14:19.098-05:00

I am amazed by some of the comments here. We of all people should be aware of the possibilities of technology to eradicate poverty as well as its causes.

I would recommend looking at thevenusproject.com and the works of Jacque Fresco, which talk about this topic in great detail.

Thanks for the great post, George.

On the other hand, if safety is not a right but a ...

2010-01-27T22:51:01.116-05:00

On the other hand, if safety is not a right but a privilege of wealth, the we really ought to ban police departments and let everyone hire their own private security, for example. Criminals are a natural hazard of any urban environment, are they not?

Whatever should or shouldn't be done, I don't think the American government should get involved with the problems of foreign lands anymore. It tends to end with the rightfully elected leaders being forcefully replaced by pro-multinational-megacorp dictators, which just makes things worse for the people they're supposed to be "saving".

Just another reason why the 'rights' discourse is ...

2010-01-27T20:26:36.449-05:00

Just another reason why the 'rights' discourse is nonsense on stilts. Become a consequentionalist and you don't have to worry about that nonsense.

Worth reading: http://aidwatchers.com/2009/06/poverty-is-not-a-human-rights-violation/

Blame Canada http://outofhaiti.ca/

2010-01-27T06:14:31.395-05:00

Blame Canada

http://outofhaiti.ca/

(attempted to post this yesterday but kept getting...

2010-01-26T22:09:13.883-05:00

(attempted to post this yesterday but kept getting errors)

Many people would not see it that way. They would think of it more like "poverty does nothing, but wealth reduces the casualty level." It all depends on what you consider to be a neutral state.

This is not merely a matter of semantics: If poverty kills, then protection from the worst ravages of the world is a right in a compassionate society, whereas if safety is a side benefit of wealth, then such protections are a privilege rather than a right.

I think you're wrong about poverty - certainly pov...

2010-01-26T02:08:18.053-05:00

I think you're wrong about poverty - certainly poverty is bad, but it does not represent active 'violence'. Poverty is the most common state of nature - it is only with a particular set of policies and institutions (and lower population growth than economic growth thank to birth control) that incomes can rise. We should ask not 'who is perpetrating this violence' but 'what have some places done in recent history that got rid of poverty'.

I think your suggestions on ending poverty in Haiti are pretty useless - yes infrastructure is nice, yes coordination is good, yes more productivity is good. We in the west have a pretty terrible record of trying to get these things to happen in other countries and there is little reason to think we will succeed here in a country with no institutions to build from.

There is one policy that would almost certainly work though: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/22/AR2010012202274.htm