Zoomtard

A Trilogy Of Posts Inspired By Haiti

Lots of quoting, and linking and little comment because typing is hard and exhausting.

From Vinoth Ramachandra, on corruption in the developing world:

Moreover, corruption in poor nations would not be possible without the tacit support, and often active involvement, of rich corporations, banks and governments in the North. For every bribe taken, there is a bribe offered. These bribes are stored, not in local banks, but in the banking system owned and controlled by the rich nations (including, in recent years, Dubai and Singapore). And what about the status of offshore tax havens (most of which are the playgrounds of super-rich American and European tourists)? These are major means of tax evasion and money laundering, and are homes to vast pools of speculative capital that destabilize poor economies. Billions of dollars, enough to pay for the entire primary health and education needs of the world’s developing countries, are being siphoned off through offshore companies and tax havens.

The rest of his essay on how, outside of disasters like the one in Haiti, the “poor do not need us”, is as usual, unmissable.

We too often assume nations like Haiti “need our help” and that we also must be wary of their corruption but the reality is that Haiti is impoverished because of “our help”, which took the form of “our corruption“. What developing nations need is justice and since they are in no way inherently less virtuous than we are, or intellectually capable, or administratively competent, they can actually shape their own development. Today, national sovereignty must be understood to extend beyond simply having a parliament.

Your Correspondent, Made no pact with Satan.