Why are some countries rich while others are poor? What are the critical factors that determine how well we live our lives? For those of us who are interested in development issues and ways to alleviate poverty, it is important that we continually explore and work to develop a deeper understanding of these issues.
The standard method used to identify poverty is based on income or consumption levels. A person or household is considered to be poor if their consumption or income level falls below a certain level necessary to meet their basic needs. Thinking about poverty simply in terms of levels of income and/or consumption, however, gives us only a limited understanding of a very complex issue. In order to address poverty and human suffering effectively, we need to delve deeper and examine the root causes and various manifestations of poverty.Read more..
Hate or love Paul Collier, the Oxford University gadfly with provocative ideas about development in the poorest countries of the world, but you can count on him to come up with astonishing analysis every time he gets to it. That is precisely what he has done in his latest book War, Guns and Votes: Democracy in Dangerous Places.
Collier is not a heterodox thinker of big ideas distilled from opaque philosophies. He bases his analysis squarely on the results of state-of-the-art quantitative analysis.
Read more..
When World War II broke out, the international order could be divided into two unequal parts, one privileged, the other subjugated: on the one hand, a system of sovereign states in the Western Hemisphere and, on the other, a colonial system in most of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Postwar decolonization recognized former colonies as states, thereby embracing state sovereignty as a global principle of relations among states. The end of the Cold War has led to another basic shift, heralding an international humanitarian order that promises to hold state sovereignty accountable to an international human rights standard.
Read more..
Imagine that it is May 25, 2063, the 100th anniversary of Africa Day, a day for reflecting on Africa’s successes and failures. The newspaper headline announces, “Last Remaining Oilfield in West Africa’s American Territory Dries Up.”
The article continues: “The last patch of rainforest will soon be empty land scarred by oil pipelines, pumping stations, and natural gas refineries. Wholesale pollution will be the environmental legacy for future generations.
Read more...
I once believed that capital was another word for money, the accumulated wealth of a country or its people. Surely, I thought, wealth is determined by the money or property in one’s possession. Then I saw a Deutsche Bank advertisement in the Wall Street Journal that proclaimed: “Ideas are capital. The rest is just money.”
I was struck by the simplicity of such an eloquent and forceful idea. I started imagining what such power meant for Africa. The potential for progress and poverty alleviation in Africa relies on capital generated from the power within our minds, not from our ability to pick minerals from the ground or seek debt relief and foreign assistance. Read more...
A few years ago, I was invited to participate on a radio panel of international development specialists to discuss the subject of Volunteerism with a smart group of young Ghanaian students called the Curious Minds. Prior to going on air, we had some time to chat and the students were particularly impressed that I had gone to America and become so rich that I could afford to be a “Volunteer.” I shared my American experiences with them, which cleared up their false assumptions and released me from being hoisted onto an undeserved pedestal. They realized that kindness and volunteerism had nothing at all to do with wealth and material possessions. I was thrilled to see how quickly they started counting things they had done in the past that would qualify as a voluntary act of kindness. The Curious Minds became absorbed in this new idea and their broad smiles and twinkling eyes revealed an AHA moment! Read more...
Dr. Michael Bernard Beckwith has a great vision: a world joined together by humankind’s highest development spiritually, educationally, scientifically, governmentally, economically and socially. As the founder of Agape International Spiritual Center and University of Transformational Studies and Leadership, and co-founder of Association for Global New Thought and Season for Nonviolence, he has established powerful communities that are working to make his vision a reality and bring about the ‘Beloved Community’ about which Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. taught us.
This inspiring film by Stafford U. Bailey and Judy Thayer-Bailey documents the journey of a group of African Americans who migrated to South Africa in search of a better life. The film shows what it is like to live, work, and play in South Africa, and underscores the wonderful lifestyle that Africa has to offer. The film also reveals that a rising number of African Americans are venturing out into the world, and that the U.S. is not the only land of opportunity.
Hate or love Paul Collier, the Oxford University gadfly with provocative ideas about development in the poorest countries of the world, but you can count on him to come up with astonishing analysis every time he gets to it. That is precisely what he has done in his latest book War, Guns and Votes: Democracy in Dangerous Places. 
When World War II broke out, the international order could be divided into two unequal parts, one privileged, the other subjugated: on the one hand, a system of sovereign states in the Western Hemisphere and, on the other, a colonial system in most of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Postwar decolonization recognized former colonies as states, thereby embracing state sovereignty as a global principle of relations among states. The end of the Cold War has led to another basic shift, heralding an international humanitarian order that promises to hold state sovereignty accountable to an international human rights standard.
I once believed that capital was another word for money, the accumulated wealth of a country or its people. Surely, I thought, wealth is determined by the money or property in one’s possession. Then I saw a Deutsche Bank advertisement in the Wall Street Journal that proclaimed: “Ideas are capital. The rest is just money.”
Dr. Michael Bernard Beckwith has a great vision: a world joined together by humankind’s highest development spiritually, educationally, scientifically, governmentally, economically and socially. As the founder of Agape International Spiritual Center and University of Transformational Studies and Leadership, and co-founder of Association for Global New Thought and Season for Nonviolence, he has established powerful communities that are working to make his vision a reality and bring about the ‘Beloved Community’ about which Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. taught us.
