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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: k.ramesh who wrote (8514)	11/1/2001 10:40:31 AM
From: Bilow	Respond to of 281500

Hi k.ramesh; Re the "funny money" that is "wasted" on armaments... In economic effect it's not at all the same as giving it away to poor people (in the US or anywhere else). The money that goes into weapon design and manufacture hires workers in the US. Re: "What would it take to create a scenario where the 'best off' 280 million in the world consider it a worthwhile challenge to address the fate of the 1-2 billion poor?" (1) The world has gotten along without such a scenario for 4.5 billion years. (2) Historically, when the 1st world has "tried to help" the 3rd world it was by noblesse oblige. In less pretty words, they told weaker nations what to do. (3) If a given 3rd world nation really wants to help itself, they have plenty of examples of nations that once were 3rd world but are now wealthy and strong. I don't think that US "help" did much for the places where it's been sent, and I feel the same way about other country's "help". (4) If it were the policy of the 1st world to bring the 3rd world out of poverty we would do the following (and be cursed by the 3rd world for doing it): (a) Refuse to export manufactured goods to 3rd world nations that could produce similar goods. All the BS you hear about "free trade" is simply BS. Maybe tariffs on imported manufactured goods aren't necessary to advance economically, but ever advanced nation I've looked into used that technique. (b) Remove all tariffs on imported manufactured goods from 3rd world nations. (For this, the intellectuals would probably curse us. You see, the fact is that we can't win.) (c) Help to prevent 3rd world nations from having any of the following policies: (which were not present in advanced nations during the times in which they advanced) welfare, minimum wage, work hour limitations. (d) Help 3rd world nations reduce graft and corruption. (e) Help 3rd world nations decrease violence, and improve the professionalism of police and military. (f) Help 3rd world nations replace their backwards legal systems with some sort of capitalism friendly laws perhaps modeled on the "uniform commercial code" that is used in most parts of the United States. (g) Let 3rd world citizens be educated in the US, but insist that they go back home after they finish their education. (h) Help 3rd world nations improve the equality and freedom of their legal systems (and maybe cultural values as well). (i) Help 3rd world nations to keep their governments relatively small and weak. (j) Help 3rd world nations to reduce the amount of moneys they spend on their military forces. Of course wherever I've used "help" what I really mean is "threaten, coerce, browbeat, etc." by using political, economic and perhaps military powers. But there really isn't much in it for the US to do this. And it is a fact that no matter what we do they'll find a way to blame us for it. For example, 26 people in Egypt rioted after the death of a girl in a traffic accident. They're going to get the book thrown at them by the government there. Why? Because of the US, of course: The charges, including "attacking individuals and public property and using force and violence against police officers," carry a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. Security sources said the unusual move reflected unease over public security while the United States bombs Afghanistan in retaliation for the September 11 attacks on U.S. cities. metimes.com The basic problem is that when you're the oldest kid in the family, you get blamed for everything. -- Carl