"I'm withering in my scorn," admits Geldof

Bob Geldof "has displayed an unfortunate despotic face towards the world. He has banned the Spice Girls (photo above) from Live 8," jokes African blogger Ethiopundit, who has some serious bones to pick with Sir Bob* -- mastermind of the Save-the-World-NOW! extravaganza designed to poke a finger in the eyes of the G8 leaders meeting in Scotland this week.

"'The Live 8 phenomenon is part of this Western fantasy of omnipotence,' [writer and authority on humanitarian aid David ] Rieff continued in a telephone interview, 'a politically correct version of the imperial impulse to give some money and all will be well, as if the problems of Africa are just the results of our not paying enough attention,'" reports -- are you ready for this? -- the New York Times. [via Jeff Jarvis at BuzzMachine]. Even broken clocks are right twice a day:

Aid specialists are questioning whether the emphasis on celebrities and one-time hyper events does not do more harm than good, distracting attention from the difficult, long-term problems.

Indeed, some fundamental assumptions of the campaign are also being challenged. Will good intentions be thwarted by corrupt governments? [Will the Pope abandon Catholocism? --ed] Can African administrations cope with a surge of increased aid? "The future of Africa is not going to be decided by rock concerts but by African politicians making good decisions," Mr. Dowden said.

Sir Bob [Geldof] dismisses those concerns. "I am withering in my scorn for the columnists who say, 'It's not going to work,' " he said. "Even if it doesn't work, what do they propose? Every night forever watching people live on TV dying on our screens?"

Well, since you asked, Sir Bob, the Leader of the Free World is proposing partnerships, where recipients of aid are accountable for how the money is spent:  No results, no more aid. It's that old thing about incentives and not rewarding bad behavior.  It worked with reform of U.S. welfare, giving former dependents the pride of independence. As always, utopianists are blind to the evidence, and hubris abounds:

"For the first time in history, humanity possesses the information, knowledge, technology and resources to bring the worst of global poverty to an end," said a statement on Wednesday from the Trans-Atlantic Forum on Poverty, a group of American, African and British religious leaders.

Humanity possesses everything it needs except the most critical skill set, common sense. Technical knowledge may be at an all-time high, but knowledge of human nature among such groups is at an all-time low. Jeff Jarvis sends us to Global Voices Online for a welcome dose of reality:

But in the age of citizen journalism, it’s pretty easy to hear what smart, opinionated Africans think about Live 8 directly from their blogs. I just did a roundup of African bloggers writing about Live 8 over at Global Voices. You may be unsurprised to discover that, generally speaking, there’s less enthusiasm for Live 8 on the continent than there is in the US or UK.

While it’s admirable that thousands of bloggers have added Technorati badges to their pages to promote Live 8, to support African debt relief or to try to revive Bob Geldof’s career . . . it would be a damn sight more useful and transformative if bloggers would go a step further and start reading some African bloggers.

We checked some of them out and fell head over heels for Ethiopundit, whose sage advice sounds like somethinng GW would say:

*Frankly, what is really needed is the encouragement of the development of the INSTITUTIONS of democracy and the free market in Africa."

Are you listening, Sir Bob?

Related posts: We are not amused, "They have come to believe that they are at the center of everyone's world"

Comments

[goomp]

Excellent report and analysis. Dumbed-down Americans don't have workable solutions. They do have hubris.

[Fausta]

Excellent post, Sissy. Great minds think alike
http://badhairblog.blogspot.com/2005/07/thanks-for-concerts-bob-live-aid-was.html

[chris]

Its amazing the skepticism here in regards to a noble cause. Bob Geldof and Bono were partly responsible for making sure aid is focused. Does no one remember Bonos trips to Africa with Paul O'Neill? Geldof, Bono and others have been focused on focusing aid through responsible organizations. Music was partly responsible for South African independence, Mandelas release, The fall of Communist Russia, the fall of the Berlin wall, the end of the Vietnam war, awareness of Chinese oppression in Tibet. Don't believe the hype. Music is a powerful mind altering force. Politicians often wish it wasn't so. Tricky Dick Nixon did all he could to keep John Lennon quiet but we see how that turned out. America could do much more as far as aid goes. The U.K. is the country that is pushing this issue. American values teach self preservation not love thy neighbor and I think thats obvious from the posts on this blog. Realism is realized through idealism. Ask Thomas Edison or Jules verne or H.G. Wells. First you have to dream it before it becomes a reality. This blog could use a few dreaming heads.

[Sissy Willis]

How sad and full of yourself you are. Do you know the story of "Why the chimes rang"? Those who make a lot of noise imagine themselves to be the ones that make things happen, while it is actually the ones who work quietly behind the scenes that effect change.

[chris]

Yeah the same ones that quickly bombed little children in Iraq for the oil when they could have peacefully disarmed the despot.

[chris]

Hey and I remember reading some serious anti-Galloway stuff here before Gorgeous George handed Norm Coleman his ass. Isn't it funny how the whole oil for food scandal has somehow fallen off the radar since America was exposed as the largest beneficiary? And you don't hear a peep around here about it. Great blog by the way. If you like BS.

[jasman]

africans for the first 60 yrs of the last century were victims of foriegn politics over the last 40 yrs they have been victims of african politics///there will be no change in the african situation no matter how much aid is given until the politicians of that continent decide to truly look out for their people