Baby you’re special, but there’s something not quite right
One more next big thing: Social lending
And another: Kiva.org – “Kiva lets you lend to a specific entrepreneur in the developing world, empowering them to lift themselves out of poverty.” I’ll do it when my cheque comes in and tell you how it goes. By the way, who’s got my Banker to the Poor book?
Paul Hawken told me [50min realaudio lecture] that the weight of all the hormones in all the people in all the world is about 11 tonnes. Which is pretty funny; like you could fit that on the back of a big trailer and looking at it one way they like run the world.
7 responses to “Baby you’re special, but there’s something not quite right”
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Check with Aaron or Matt – one or both of them borrowed the book when I tried to return it.
re Kiva does Galatians 6:10 apply?
How would it apply?
re 2
I think it applies, but readers of the apostle should try to avoid being excessively self-serving. In short, if Gal 6:10 applies so does Matthew 5:45-47. Sometimes I think Christians supporting exclusively Christians results in a ‘higher form of selfishness’.
In any case Kiva is about investments which are less about ‘doing good to all’ then making money with money. A good profit can be had in carefully run micro finance. I think this year is the year of micro finance (or was that last year, I must be getting older…) and there has been a certain level of hype around it.
There’s an interesting discussion about the value of microfinance here from people involved in it.
http://www.microlinks.org/ev_en.php?ID=11397_201&ID2=DO_TOPIC
But very simply, here’s an argument. Microfinance lends money to entrepreneurs. These people, in third world countries are generally financially poor and educationally poor. In the developed world, 80% of new companies fail within the first 5 years. For that reason, most of us look for a job, rather than become entrepreneurs.
Now why would poor, uneducated people be any better at setting up a business than those of us in the developed world? Ceteris paribus you wouldn’t have thought they would do much better…
Bearing in mind, D, that I generally have the upmost kudos for your comments here, I would suggest that this last one is… stupid. Why would poor, uneducated people be any better at setting up a business than those of us in the developed world?
Because they’re selling chickens to hungry families, not interactive self-help DVDs to bloated credit card slaves.
People need chickens, D!
re: 5
I rather like it when someone accuses me of being stupid. I have friend (who happens to be 83) who regularly tells me I’m stupid. And backhanded compliments are all good.
There’s a number of problems with what you say. Here’s one. Let’s suppose you and I, feeling especially noble (or more likely, we won Lotto) establish a micro-credit institute. And let’s suppose that we think chickens (or goats, or livestock generally) are a really good idea so we give a particularly good deal (lower interest rate, say). And let’s suppose we’re giving this loan to people in Botswana. A loan to buy a chicken or a goat is (let’s assume) reasonably affordable for a significant proportion of the population. Then the problem is reasonably apparent – in classical economic theory it would be considered to be the problem of a “low barrier to entry”. In other words, it fails because too many people can do it. The expected return drops (you can’t sell the eggs because everyone else is trying to do it, the price crashes). This has happened frequently with micro-credit and has in some cases resulted in people being worse off than before.
This happens easily when you are trying to help ‘the masses’.
To really get a meaningful, significant business going which covers more than short term needs you have to have something which others don’t have – be it ability, education, a keen eye, friends in high places, whatever. Micro-credit may help in some of those situations (and there have been some notable success stories).
But it is not a substitute for more structured, systematic programmes which attempt to provide services and facilities (education, financial services etc) in such a way as to promote economic development as a whole.
Don’t get me wrong, micro-credit has a place. But it depends on a large number of socio-cultural-economic factors. Many people seem to see micro-credit as a ‘silver bullet solution’ and as a result funds are being taken from other programmes who have greater long term value over time.
I think Stanley Hauerwas said something like patience for a theologian was discussing theology in the midst of the terrible tragedies, travesties and injustices which surround us in the hope that it would provide tools to better deal with these. Perhaps patience in the context of development programmes is (to some extent) looking beyond the next starving mouth or touted solution to provide a better life for generations.
It is regrettable, that ones entrepreneurial abilities (as far as I can see) do not increase with the lack of food. I wish they did… If anything I think they decrease. When you’re dead by the time you’re 35 (on average, present life expectancy in Botswana), you’re ability to be a successful, strong contributor to your world is somewhat limited. And that is shitty.
I’d be interested in your thoughts. Perhaps reading the following would help nuance any discussion: http://tinyurl.com/y6y439
Incidentally I would encourage any & all to support the CWS water appeal (‘give the gift of life’) instead of putting presents under the xmas tree. If you’re still within your tax deductible donations, because of government subsidies of $4:1 your gift of $1 results in about $1.80 of aid being given (assuming you claim back from the IRD).
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