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Question #4

Q:  Should the countries of the world that are well off be obliged to assist the less fortunate?  Summarize the theories that address this central debate.  What is your opinion, and why?

            The economically developed nations of the world are obliged to assist their less fortunate global neighbors.  Both the EDCs and the LDCs agree that there are a large number of drastic reforms that must be made.  The problems are that many of the proposals from each group would possibly harm the other group and are impractical.

            The LDCs have proposed the following; trade reforms, monetary reforms, industrialization, economic sovereignty, and economic aid.  The LDCs want the elimination of trade barriers and the regulation of prices and merchandise so they can undersell EDCs and give themselves and economic advantage.  Floating currencies are greatly hurting LDC economies.  They want a stabilization of currencies against a constant in order to limit inflation.  They also want increased funding from the IMF, but without conditions, in order to better feed their people and improve their infrastructure.  To aid in getting more money from international agencies they want greater LDC participation in the decision-making processes of these institutions.  They recognize that to become rich they need to industrialize and want assistance from EDCs to aid in this modernization.  They want economic sovereignty so that they can control how their resources are used and to regulate the actions of multi-national corporations within their boundaries.  Finally, they want EDCs to increase their economic aid.  This is so they can get infusions of capital and food without going into debt to the donor nations.  They also want more organizations such as the IMF and World Bank in order to get more money for development and taking care of their people.

The EDCs agree with the LDCs that many reforms are necessary.  While EDCs agree with LDCs on many of the reforms, they disagree with many of the details of those reforms.  From the viewpoint of the EDCs, why help those who won’t help themselves?  EDCs are willing to lower trade barriers, but because of their capitalist natures are reluctant to regulate prices and merchandise in the manner the LDCs desire.  EDCs might be willing to go back to a fixed currency system, but it is unlikely unless another economy shattering tragedy occurs, such as another great depression or world war.  EDCs are also reluctant to increase funding for organizations such as the IMF because they perceive those funds as money thrown away.  EDCs can see little benefit for the billions of dollars that they send to LDCs every year and don’t want to throw good money after bad.  It has been observed that most of the money and resources sent to LDCs end up in the hands of those in power instead of going to those who need the food and extra money.  Both EDCs and LDCs agree on the desperate need for industrialization in LDCs.  However, the EDCs also want the industrialization to be environmentally friendly, but are not willing to fund the clean technologies.  EDCs cannot have it both ways, and their efforts to do so are harming LDCs and discourage investment in southern industrialization.  EDCs recognize the LDCs right to economic sovereignty.  However, no nation is economically sovereign anymore and the controls that EDCs desire have and will actually hurt their economies, which depend on multi-national corporations.  Most nations agree that LDCs badly need economic aid.  The problem is that they don’t perceive that their past economic aid has had much effect in most southern nations.  If LDCs enthusiastically enacted the reforms that EDCs desire, then economic aid would likely rapidly flow into those LDCs.

My position is that EDCs are obliged to aid LDCs, however the principal of lead, follow, or get out of the way should also apply.  The governments of the LDCs should either lead the reforms, enthusiastically enact the reforms proposed by the EDCs, or simply stand aside and let the EDCs do whatever they feel necessary to reform their economies into something that functions well.  Unfortunately, LDCs have repeatedly proved that they are unwilling to enact the reforms that EDCs desire and only propose reforms that EDCs are unwilling to go along with.  My off the wall suggestion is to revive a policy of neo-colonization.  EDCs should “adopt” unsuccessful LDCs, gain total control over those nations, and enact reforms in concert with other EDCs.  These reforms are border changes, industrial and farming technology injections, and government replacement.  After the LDCs have been subjugated, the EDCs should redraw the national boundaries along ethnic lines so as to lessen the inter-tribal warfare endemic to the past century.  Once the EDCs are in control they can distribute aid money and resources to those with the greatest need.  In addition, EDCs should set up non-profit farms and industries owned and run by EDCs and hire LDC workers.  The proceeds from the income brought in by these farms and industries would be distributed among the people of the region and used to build up the necessary infrastructure for further economic development.  After several years the LDC workers would learn how to run successful industries and how to farm successfully to produce the amazing yields of EDC farms.  Eventually, EDCs would allow LDCs (which would actually be newly industrialized countries by this point) to administer these industries and farms with EDCs only operating as consultants.  Once the former LDCs have learned how to run economies properly and have an acceptable standard of living, the EDCs should withdraw and free their quasi-colonies to fend for themselves again and restore their sovereignty.

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