Monday, June 13, 2011
Wrong choice
News item:
Well, she's halfway right. The new Chinese version of colonialism is pretty much identical to the old pre-1960 colonialism. But she's creating a false choice between Chinese colonialism and American aid.
American aid is pure bribery to the elites, with no trickle-down to the masses. We pretend otherwise, but everyone knows the facts.
True colonialism, old or new, does create jobs for the masses. It's better than American aid, and the masses know it.
The real choice is between competent self-sufficiency and any type of colonialism. A truly independent country takes care of extracting its own resources and sells them on the open market to the best bidder. African leaders are innately incapable of competent leadership, so this choice isn't available in Africa. The British version of colonialism was probably the best of all the bad choices, because the Brits did try to distribute the wealth to some extent. ¶ 4:42 AM
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is warning Africa of a creeping “new colonialism” from foreign investors and governments interested only in extracting the continent’s natural resources to enrich themselves and not the African people.
Clinton said Saturday that African leaders must ensure that foreign projects are sustainable and benefit all their citizens, not only elites. A day earlier, she cautioned that China’s massive investments and business interests in Africa need to be closely watched so that the African people are not taken advantage of.
Well, she's halfway right. The new Chinese version of colonialism is pretty much identical to the old pre-1960 colonialism. But she's creating a false choice between Chinese colonialism and American aid.
American aid is pure bribery to the elites, with no trickle-down to the masses. We pretend otherwise, but everyone knows the facts.
True colonialism, old or new, does create jobs for the masses. It's better than American aid, and the masses know it.
The real choice is between competent self-sufficiency and any type of colonialism. A truly independent country takes care of extracting its own resources and sells them on the open market to the best bidder. African leaders are innately incapable of competent leadership, so this choice isn't available in Africa. The British version of colonialism was probably the best of all the bad choices, because the Brits did try to distribute the wealth to some extent. ¶ 4:42 AM
