Helping the poor in the developing world has long been a central concern of Catholics. Catholic schools collect money for the missions; parishes sponsor sister communities in poor countries; organizations like Catholic Relief Services work on ground-level projects while advocating for increased foreign aid from governments. Supporting international charities and assisting effor (...)
September 14, 2012
Books
Vicious Circles
Why Nations FailThe Origins of Power, Prosperity, and PovertyDaron Acemoglu and James RobinsonCrown, $30, 544 pp.
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It would be great to hear reports from both church and secular aid agencies on which programs and activities they find most effective. The evaluative effort apparent from this book needs much more in depth research before their conclusions have real credibility. Note that the 'nation building' the USA has attempted in both Iraq and Afghanistan has run aground against entrenched institutions and a lack of unity of purpose. Education, the most likely successful stratagem, is very much feared in every under developed area of the world. In particular it can mean 'smart' girls who refuse to be household slaves any more. Worse, it enables people to access information and models of behavior, production and consumption from far outside their own locale. Dreams only can come true when people really have them.