Bill Gates seems to believe that the solution to poverty is to persuade for-profit companies to meet the poor’s needs by boosting the “recognition” of corporate philanthropy. But the dossier of historical evidence to suggest this would work is quite thin, says William R. Easterly, a professor of economics at New York University and visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution.
Consider:
Profit-motivated capitalism has done wonders for poor workers. The steady increase in wages for unskilled labour lifts the workers out of poverty, explains Easterly. For example, the number of poor people who can’t afford food for their children is a lot smaller than it used to be – thanks to capitalism. Capitalism didn’t create malnutrition, it reduced it:
The parts of the world that are still poor are suffering from too little capitalism, says Easterly:
Source: William R. Easterly, Why Bill Gates Hates My Book, Wall street Journal, February 7, 2008.
For text: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120235183917849631.html
For more on Economic Issues: http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_Category=17
FMF Policy Bulletin/ 12 February 2008
