French workers fight for the right to be lazy

[Flubber]

Originally posted by Kidicious
I'm not debating you Flubber.

A debate-- you make unfounded assertions and are unwilling to back them up

Why not let's do something just as silly like this

hey kid -- how often do you beat your wife??

Oh and kid -- I'm still smiling--- must be this wonderful capitalist society where guess what, I am going to inprove my economic condition yet again today

[Kidlicious]

Originally posted by Lonestar
Bahrain sucks.

I went to Hawaii, PI (several parts), Singapore, Hong Kong, Sasebo(sp) Japan, SK, Pataya Beach Thia (the best), Mombasa Kenya, and Diego Garcia. I actually like Diego Garcia, but we only got like 4 hours there.

[el freako]

Originally posted by Kidicious
I disagree. It's all about distribution of resources. Because of capitalism Africa does not get enough resources.

If by resources you mean natural resources then they provide little to help a country develop - indeed they usually hinder a countries development by providing easy rent-seeking opportunities that usually end up corrupting it's polity, they can also discouraging balanced development.

The most important resources are people, knowledge and capital - and capital is the most important of these as it is the catalyst that can make the other two perform well.
Africa does not get enough capital because it's markets are mired by corruption and either too much government interference (taxing farmers to subsidise city-dwellers) or too little (as in anarchies like Somalia)

Originally posted by Kidicious
How is more capitalism and more globalization going to change that, and what exactly do you mean by more of those two things?

Freer markets in the west for africa's agricultural produce would help, but the easiest way to help people in the third world is to enable them to migrate to the west where their labour can produce far more wealth.
Unfortunately that seems politically impossible as for most people in the rich west their citizenship is the most valuable 'asset' they own - it enables them to earn far more than they would get if they had to sell their labour in a free international market, it is not surprising that the mass movement of people that should be happening today has been restricted by the politics of the western nations, and that such restrictions are highly popular in the west.

Freer trade would also help africa (and the rest of the world, rich or poor, as well) but I fear we have already passed the peak of trade liberalization and are due another backlash against it like there was in 1900-1940 (but, please God, let the fallout from it be less awfull).


For globalization to work properly you need freedom of movement of capital, trade and labour.

In international finance, globalization is a bit more advanced now than it was before the first world war.
In trade we are around as integrated as we were then.
In migration we are massively less integrated today.

Globalization has a long way to go even to equal the levels it reached a century ago, but those nations that have embraced it seem to have done well out of it - unfortunately few nations in africa have embraced it, to their loss and ours.

[Flubber]

kidicious

one quote??

[Saras]

Why do you even bother?

[Flubber]

Originally posted by Saras
Why do you even bother?

I generally enjoy debating and I am stubborn beyond all reason

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

Originally posted by Lonestar


Driver: I ahve a good deal for you, my friends. Only 10 BD!

Me and IT3: (basically, $30 bucks for less than five miles)

We walk away.

Driver: Wait Wait! 8 BD!

IT3: We paid 4 bd to get here, we won't go above that.

Driver: But that was from there to here, not from here to there!

Me: That's the exact same distance!

So we got another Driver.

Bahrain sucks.

Reminds me of the old joke about New Jersey. Its free to get in but you have to pay to get out (and believe me you want to get out).

[Ming]

Discuss the topic and not the posters!

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

The joke wasn't on posters. It was spread by word of mouth.

[Kidlicious]

Originally posted by el freako
The most important resources are people, knowledge and capital - and capital is the most important of these as it is the catalyst that can make the other two perform well.
Africa does not get enough capital because it's markets are mired by corruption and either too much government interference (taxing farmers to subsidise city-dwellers) or too little (as in anarchies like Somalia)

A professor of mine said that the problem with places as desperate as Africa is that any money that they get is going to serve immediate needs at the cost of investment in infrastructure. For example if you give them corn seed to grow new crops they are going to use it to feed the people. I know there is a lot of corruption and that is why investment there is lacking, but it's also true that they need more investment than any where else to get any return on their investment. The corruption is likely to remain, but they the amount of capital that would go to Africa even if there weren't corruption wouldn't be enough.

[Dinner]

Originally posted by Saras
Why do you even bother?

The best question so far in this thread.

[Dinner]

Originally posted by Kidicious
A professor of mine said that the problem with places as desperate as Africa is that any money that they get is going to serve immediate needs at the cost of investment in infrastructure.

That's not true on a national level. Read the book "The Africans" to understand how terriblely intrusive government policies, communist/socialist ideologies, nationalism, and just plan kleptocracy has created the ****hole which is modern Africa. It has little or nothing to do with capitalism and almost everything to do with corruption, bad government, and repressive regimes.

Before you say your staqndard line may I point out that nearly all of those regimes were home grown and your boogy man the west did not put them there nor do they keep them there. Learn about Africa then pontificate about what its problems are and what the solutions are because right now you're looking very bad in this thread.

[Kidlicious]

I'm saying there are two problems. You aren't helping by saying that there aren't two, because of the one. Does that make sense?

[pchang]

if you have to ask, the answer is no

[Kidlicious]

The assumption is that if there were no corruption in Africa that it would be just like China, when Africa is lacking in infrastructure and education, and it's people are living in poverty. China is quite different.