Death in Ethiopia: Tragedy Repeats Itself

BreakPoint ^ | 22 May 03 | Chuck Colson

[arthurus]

Pinochet put Chile on the road to financial solvency and to being the most stable ecomomy in Latin America by hiring the "Chicago Boys" from the Economics department of the UofC to come down and design the economy. I wish Ethiopia could do something like that. Unfortunately, the rulers, having succeeded an emperor, believe themselves to be infallible and emperorlike. They do not ask advice.

[arthurus]

Ethiopia is potentially rich. The government needs to institute the open market and invite in the industry of the world with minimal taxation and regulation. The place would boom.

[tru_degenerate]

Yea, but at what price.

It can't be as simple as you suggest. There has to be other obstacles to overcome.

[Chi-Town Lady]

"If so many are starving, why does the population keep increasing? Ahh, but we aren't supposed to ask that, now, are we?"

My question too. I don't know about you but if I KNEW that if I had a child and that it would more than likely die of starvation or disease I wouldn't bring a child into the world. Maybe if they kept their population in check there'd be more food to go around.

[marron]

The government needs to institute the open market

In my round-about way, this is what I am getting at. The present crisis demands emergency action, but if structural changes are not made, we will all be right back here dealing with the same problem next decade. I suspect that there are resources, mineral or otherwise, that could form the basis for a real economy.

At what price development? At the price of no longer having to deal with mass starvation every time the weather cycle changes. In their acerbic way, "Kenton" and "Billy_bob are pointing to the same problem. Any country can have an emergency. A country that has emergencies every decade without fail has other underlying problems. Emergency aid alone is not enough. Aid must be a bridge to allow time for the necessary reforms.

"Under Ethiopia's land tenure system, the government owns all land and provides long-term leases to the tenants; the system continues to hamper growth in the industrial sector as entrepreneurs are unable to use land as collateral for loans. " CIA World Factbook

"Although it had reported the existence of a wide range of minerals throughout the country, the government had authorized little exploration." Library of Congress Country Study

They have natural gas. There is evidence of oil. They are actively mining gold, and other minerals are there. Decades of war was a turn-off for investment, as was its insane Marxist government during the eighties. But the war and the Marxists are past tense, so there must be other limits to investment in the economy. Maybe there is someone out there who has personal knowledge of the facts on the ground, who can comment.

[WVNan]

The poorer a population, the more children they have. It's a natural mechanism to assure survival of the population. The more affluent the population, the fewer the children. This is a well known phenomenon in social studies and anthropology.

[Chi-Town Lady]

"The poorer a population, the more children they have. It's a natural mechanism to assure survival of the population. The more affluent the population, the fewer the children. This is a well known phenomenon in social studies and anthropology."

Doesn't it make more sense to insure the survival of the population by making sure that those that are born are fed properly so that their live expectancy is more than 5 years?

[SamAdams76]

Oh great. Does this mean that recording artists like Prince, Huey Lewis & The News, Tina Turner and Kenny Rogers are going to record some new B-sides to slap on an album that they will still be charging $17.98 for 20 years from now?

And the money will go to what? Propping up the dictatorship regime that oppresses these people? No thanks. I'll just get these tunes from Kazaa and I'll wish those poor Africans a happy Kwaanza. Hint: The system you got right now ain't working.

[UnklGene]

Don't send any GM corn. It's not PC!

[A_perfect_lady]

Marxism strikes again. As Kim du Toit says, "Let Africa Sink." Sorry to be heartless; if Christians want to donate their hard-earned money subsidizing yet another installment of the sick human experiment that is Marxism played out in a country prone to periodic famines, I won't attempt to stop them. But I do wish Bush wouldn't comandeer America's taxes to be poured into the bottomless pit of global monetary redistribution. (And before the Bush bots jump on me, let me say hastily I love the man to death and shall vote for him next year. But I do have a wish list.)

[tru_degenerate]

I admit I don't have much knowledge on why Ethiopia is as it is. From what I know it seems like they have had more than their share of problems. It is not easy for a country to just up and change its entire system.

[yankeedame]

In the absense of war in Ethiopia, what is happening there to cause this, this time around?

What else? That old reliable "dought"

[yankeedame]

"If so many are starving, why does the population keep increasing? Ahh, but we aren't supposed to ask that, now, are we?"

My question too. I don't know about you but if I KNEW that if I had a child and that it would more than likely die of starvation or disease I wouldn't bring a child into the world. Maybe if they kept their population in check there'd be more food to go around.
=========================================

On the contrary, you'd bring lots of children into the world, in the hopes that at least a couple would servive and provide for you in your "old age" (say, 43 or 44)

[okie01]

"The trick is to learn to harness Mother Nature, to learn to use your environment."

In the late forties, as part of Truman's Point Four program, my alma mater, Oklahoma State (then Oklahoma A&M) set up a faculty and student exchange program with Ethiopia (then ruled by Haile Selassie). Ethiopia set up an Ag school and extension service, which was initially staffed by Okie Staters, then Ethiopian graduates of Okie State. And, finally, Ethiopian graduates of what we came to know as Ethiopia A&M.

By the mid fifties, Ethiopia was feeding itself -- for the first time ever. By 1960, they had become a net food exporter.

Then, Marxism arrived. And the rest is famine...

[okie01]

"I wish Ethiopia could do something like that."

At one time, they did. See #34.

[Chi-Town Lady]

"On the contrary, you'd bring lots of children into the world, in the hopes that at least a couple would servive and provide for you in your "old age" (say, 43 or 44)"

Only if I were a very selfish person.

[wita]

Now that is putting it plainly, What would it take to overcome the marxists? What happened to the school that was set up, what happened to the faculty and student exchange? If it stopped because it wasn't needed, it sounds like it would be beneficial to set up once again, provided the government, would agree, theirs not ours.

[okie01]

"If it stopped because it wasn't needed, it sounds like it would be beneficial to set up once again, provided the government, would agree, theirs not ours."

It was stopped because there was a bloody revolution, Haile Selassie was overthrown in 1974 and Ethiopia was run by a brutal Communist dictator for the next 18 years.

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, I believe Ethiopia has fallen into, well, anarchy. Before Ethiopia A&M, the extension service and the exchange program could be re-vitalized, there needs to be a stable government in Addis Ababa.

[wita]

Excellent point, I tend to view countries with the same rosy eyes I have for the one I live in. As repressive as I might think our govenment is or has the capability to be, there is no comparison to one where a rightless society exist from day to day. A condition we can hardly understand, much less experience as the rightless do.