The big G-8 music festival is coming soon, with planning by Bob Geldof, the man behind Live-Aid, and also star of the Pink Floys movie, The Wall. I think it's cool that a bunch of musicians are getting together to raise money for the poor, but it's not cool that their stated aim is to put pressure on the G-8 countries to give more money to poor Africans. Africa is a very rich continent in terms of natural resources, but it is terribly underdeveloped. One reason why is that the governments of the various countries there have little incentive to develop. I could work hard, but why should I when people keep sending me money for nothing? Charity has rarely raised anyone out of poverty. At the best it gives someone some breathing space to get their lives together, get a job, start earning some money, but if they know they'll be given more and more charity, why bother getting a job? The same can be said of African countries. The best thing to do would be to put pressure on various governments there to reform themselves, stop opressing their people, and start developing their economies. The U.S. already gives hundreds of millions, maybe even billions, in aid to poor African countries every year. More is not going to make a difference unless other factors change first. I wish Geldof would get this, and stop blaming the US for all the world's problems. If you want to blame anyone besides Africans themsevles for their problems, blame the legacy of European imperialism. Colonialism is not, and has rarely ever been, a good thing for the country being colonized. Economic colonization, the concept of the US, for example, helping to develop businesses in African countries, would be a major boon. Give people work, a chance to earn money and better themsevles and have stable lives, and then the natural entreprenuership present in all societies will start taking care of the economy. Concerts aren't really going to help anyone in the long run, except perhaps for a boost to Geldof's career.

You want to do something immediately? Get Mugabe out of office in Zimbabwe, get the Islamists out of Algeria, stop the genocide in Darfur. These are far more immediate problems, and action on an would go a long way towards stabilizing the countries involved. You can't industrialize without stability, and you can't be anything but poor without industrialization. These musicians probably think the worst thing that could happen is to visit Africa and see that it's no longer quaint and wild and such. They would be upset and bemoan the loss of culture or some crap like that. The people living there, on the other hand, would love it because they'd be able to eat and have the conveniences of modern life. These elites don't seem to understand that the life of a poor African bushman is only glamarous to the visitor, while it's a life of struggle, hunger, and frustration to the bushman himself, and no amount of foreign aid will change that.