Posted on 07/24/2005 5:06:57 PM PDT by markderian
Live 8 like a Suicide Music is fun, but it won’t save the world By Mark Derian
The end of African poverty is near, or so we would think, judging by the hullabaloo surrounding the recent Live 8 concerts. The goal of the event was to raise awareness of, and eventually eliminate poverty in Africa by influencing the G8 summit to cancel Africa’s debt, rewrite trade laws, and pledge to give Africa larger portions of money.
But Live 8 organizers and supporters ignore underlying principles which perpetuate a country's economic climate.
The one ingredient that is necessary for the proliferation of wealth is the establishment of a small, decentralized government that protects basic human rights, such as life, liberty, and property.
Much of Africa is plagued by corrupt socialist regimes which control its citizens with an iron fist. Africa is also characterized by anarchy, in which case a country is ruled by rival ethnic clans or gangs. The result is a continent marked by genocide and slavery (yes, slavery still exists in parts of Africa). In either case, the only solution to the poverty problem is the overhauling of corruption and the implementation of a government that at least vaguely resembles our western governments.
Also, it’s silly to think that merely rewriting trade rules to make them ‘fair’ will bring about change because, just like increasing funding, it doesn’t attack the heart of the problem. An attempt such as this amongst political chaos is like running to the scene of a car accident and giving the victims a grammar lesson. Sure, grammar is great, but first things first.
The call to revamp the political systems of Africa, which is the only real answer, is often demonized as too idealistic and impractical by detractors. True, this won’t be easy, and it will take adherence to the highest philosophical and political standards, many generations, and possibly a few broken hearts, but nothing else will do. All the money in the world will not save the miserable ones.
In fact, funding Africa often hurts more than it helps. Much of the money is hoarded by corrupt dictators, and either goes directly to their private bank accounts, or aids the continuations of these regimes, and consequently, the perpetuation of more oppression.
The worst part about Live 8 is its willingness to rely on public money to fund African misery. They want tax dollars i.e. money extorted from individuals to aid these countries, instead of private, voluntary contributions. This is the great Live 8 contradiction: justice in Africa is good, but for some reason the continuation of justice in the rest of the world is of no concern. A mentality such as this results from the idea that we need to sacrifice our values and happiness in order to improve conditions in Africa. This outlook, initiated by Marx and implied by almost every reigning intellectual and politician, is untrue. There is no set quantity of happiness in this world that needs to be distributed equally amongst humans. Happiness is possible for all.
Perhaps the reason for wanting to throw money at a problem stems from the inability to see the profound effects a favorable political climate can have on the economic climate of country. While walking among America’s skyscrapers and shopping malls, it’s easy to forget that we were once a poor nation, much poorer than Africa is today. Thankfully, a few bright men arose to the occasion and established a nation based on individual rights, and the rest is history. Granted, America isn’t perfect, but there was, and always been, an implicit sentiment in our intellectual climate that the individual, not the group or state, is sovereign. Again, this is exactly what Africa needs; there is no alternative.
However, I’m sure Live 8’s contributions will reach a few individuals who will be pulled out of the African abyss, just as similar events and charities in the past, such as Live Aid in 1985, were capable of like outcomes. But Live 8 will hardly ‘change the world’ as its cohorts profess, just as Live Aid didn’t change the world. The first sign of insanity is the repetition of the same action while expecting different results.
Never before in the history of the world has there been a generation, my generation, with the available free time and access to knowledge, both capable of serving as an impetus for real political and social change. But we must not make the same mistakes as our parents, and devote our energy towards scratching the surface of these grave issues. I urge my peers to realize that changing the world will not come about by listening to music, but only by identifying of the underlying abstract political principles which serve as the basis for human progress, and acting accordingly.
Welcome to FR
100% of them told me that Live 8 was a joke. It will only help the crooks already in power.
Live 8 had one beneficial result:
Pink Floyd performing together for the first time in 25 years.
Still Crazy After 20 Years [Did Bono, Madonna's aid to victims also aid their executioners]
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1440402/posts
*Snipped*
The first time Bono and Madonna got together to save Africa, the unintended consequence was the death of perhaps as many as 100,000 people. That's aid expert David Rieff's conclusion in the July 2005 issue of the resolutely liberal American Prospect magazine regarding the end result of Live Aid in 1985.
The money was supposed to go toward relieving hunger. In reality, argues Rieff, the rock stars and well-intentioned donors became unwilling participants in a civil war and unwitting supporters of a Soviet-style resettlement project that vastly increased the severity of the famine. Rieff points to three causes of Ethiopia's famine: one natural, a two-year long drought, and two "entirely man-made." The man-made contributing factors were, first, "the dislocation imposed by the wars being waged by the central government" against rebel groups in the north of the country, and, second, "by far the most serious, the forced agricultural collectivization policy pursued with seemingly limitless ruthlessness by Mengistu Haile Mariam and his colleagues who had overthrown emperor Haile Selassie in 1974, and officially adopted communism as their creed in 1984."
We are witnessing the biggest deportation since the Khmer Rouge genocide," charged MSF's president, Claude Malhuret, in late 1985. In an exercise of deadly compassion, humanitarian "aid to victims was unwittingly transformed into support to their executioners."
In other words, Madonna sang, activists bemoaned the self-absorption of life in the rich world, Bono felt good about himself, and music fans phoned in the money that would buy the trucks that would deliver the bodies to the Marxist murderers in the Mengistu regime.
This time around, Chris Martin, the frontman of Coldplay and a former student in World Studies at London's University College, told the Live 8 audience that the July 2, 2005, concerts were "the greatest thing that's ever been organized, probably, in the history of the world."
Imagine that! Getting Bono and Madonna together for another afternoon shot at saving Africa is bigger than D-Day, a bigger and greater achievement in organization than the putting together of the invading force of 11,000 airplanes, 5,000 ships and over 150,000 troops that broke Germany's grip on western Europe and foreshadowed the end of Hitler's dream of turning the planet into a Nazi hellhole.
"Maybe if we all think real hard we can stop the rain! Everybody chant with me! No rain! No rain! No rain! No rain! No rain! No rain! No rain! No rain! No rain! No rain! No rain! No rain! No rain! No rain! No rain! No rain! No rain! No rain! No rain! No rain! No rain! No rain! No rain! No rain! No rain! No rain! No rain! No rain! No rain! No rain! No rain! No rain! No rain! No rain! No rain! No rain! No rain! No rain! No rain! No rain! No rain! No rain! No rain! No rain! No rain! No rain! No rain! No rain! No rain! No rain! No rain!"
If the Live 8 progressives were REALLY serious, they would each take, what, 10%, half of their own personal wealth and give it to Africa. "Give it to Africa," what does that mean? Take that same pool of their money and turn it over to exactly the same agencies, institutions and individuals that they'd name should the US ask, "What should we do with this $10 billion in African aid?" They should spend their own money in exactly the same manner as they'd want US money to be spent. Give it to the UN? Fine! Live 8 give it to the UN!
No? We didn't think so! Hey, old timers! Go back to trying to remember playing with yourselves!
Right.
And a few years later, G-d started chanting "No Wavy Gravy! Of course, he only had to chant it once.
(steely)
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