In a recent editorial for "MoneyWeek" magazine (27 April 2012), Merryn Somerset Webb makes the point that "one of the best ways to help the poor is not to be one of them". Under the heading, "Don't knock capitalism", she says that companies "almost by definition" help people as they provide jobs. She goes on to quote Robert Shiller in his book, "Finance and the Good Society" as saying that what capitalism needs is "expanded, democratised and humanised."
I completely agree. I find myself thinking that this is a common-sense approach to all charity. After all, if you haven't got it, you can't give any of it away.
But, surely, better than giving it away is to buy goods from the poor person, and invest in his business, allowing him to expand, and on the way improving one's own investment portfolio. In this way he will be lifted from poverty, and encouraged to produce more, and improve upon what he does. It is surely not a co-incidence that where there are massive grants of international aid, so there is widespread corruption and continual poverty.
I cannot imagine how dispiriting it must be to be caught in poverty, with no market for one's labour, ruled by corrupt people sponging off international aid whose sole interest is to keep you there thus ensuring the continuation of that aid, and then - to cap it all! - have hoards of "gappies" descend on you to "teach" you stuff, or "help" dig a well, when all you really need is a proper job for income, and a decent JCB digger to hire!
Glad I got that off my chest!
...and lest we forget, poverty isn't confined to where the international aid flows. The photo above looks like Edinburgh to me. Its from a website called "TheBluMile". On this link there is a video put together by actors and producers which aims to get people thinking about its title: "Poverty Is EVERYWHERE".
It's close to the bone, and there is a lot of strong language. This is the link: Poverty Is EVERYWHERE.
My message is that proper capitalism empowers people to improve their lot. What we have now isn't capitalism, because its "crony capitalism".
Don't knock capitalism; bring it back to health.
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Additional edit after the above was posted:
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As is often the case, one falls upon something else related to the thing one had just done! Giving Evidence (on this link: Giving Evidence) is a web site that I think will interest anyone giving to charity. Its aim is to help "people to give well to charities".
