If I go give them a bunch of money, it doesn’t make them richer and doesn’t improve their life. If I give them a bunch of a precious substance like Gold, that doesn’t help either, unless one of them takes a bunch and runs off with it to someplace where he or she can exchange it for stuff, its as useless as the money.

If I visit, Im making their scarce resources stretch further. If I bring my own food and drink with me, they’d probably like me to leave as much of it as possible behind when I go. Here’s a danger, because if I do that someone might think he can live off what I left for a while, and stop his fishing, picking or tending, then when it runs out he might have a more serious problem.

Perhaps there are more productive ways to grow stuff that I could share with them. If they are interested, and if they successfully apply these techniques, will the population not increase to match the available foods? Might the result be that the resources of the island are used at a faster rate and afdter a few seasons those techniques no longer work because the nitrates in the soil are used up? What then?

But what does it mean ‘they are having a tough time’? What is my assumption here that makes me think that there is something to do? Some help to be given?

What if the island is not isolated but has a small import and export trade and a government that is in touch with those neighbouring countries. What if one of those countries lent the government of this island some money in the past and is now expecting repayments that they are having a hard time to meet. What about when they suggest that the islanders stop fishing to let the fleet of that country take their fish instead while they reduce the debt. That would put a squeeze on the islanders, now they are having a tough time. What can I do to help them now?

problems with proposed theory

1. what we do not earn, we do not treasure
2. relocation of wealth, either from developed countries or some wealthier individuals, has thus far proven to be inefficient and unsuccessful method of alleviating poverty.
3. imagine if you get a check in your bank account from a wealthy uncle on a monthly basis, would you change your spending habits? would you use the money towards an productive fashion for long term economic growth? would you open your account for third party auditing?

Sophia

Somebody has to be the exploited underclass or else it doesn’t work.

I see this as being absolutely fundamental to problems of poverty and inequality on a global scale, and all attempts to make small incremental improvements are ultimately doomed because the underlying cause - Capitalism - will remain, and the rule of The Market will continue to dominate. Greenhouse gas emissions and the debts of developing nations are actually being *traded* as we speak.

Discuss.

How lovely that the first comment here comes from Kenya!

It’s the unspoken question on this page that I am trying to understand. Not whether it is technically or logistically possible, in some way, for people from wealthy countries to reallocte their advantage to those in poor countries; that’s a kind of rhetorical question posed here as a way to get to the real question.

When I wrote this I considered speaking that question at the end, after ‘would we do it’:

And if not, what are the consequences?

One of the consequences, I suspect, would be that the world would not be a better place to live in. What do you think?