Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site randvax.ARPA Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!seismo!hao!hplabs!sdcrdcf!randvax!edhall From: edhall@randvax.ARPA (Ed Hall) Newsgroups: net.politics Subject: Re: The Joy of Starvation Message-ID: <1656@randvax.ARPA> Date: Sat, 28-Jan-84 15:43:29 EST Article-I.D.: randvax.1656 Posted: Sat Jan 28 15:43:29 1984 Date-Received: Tue, 31-Jan-84 03:44:59 EST References: <854@ihuxl.UUCP>, <355@rayssd.UUCP>, <249@pyuxss.UUCP>, <2437@rabbit.UUCP> Organization: Rand Corp., Santa Monica Lines: 38 ---------------------------------- Many African nations have a thriving agriculture industry, growing things like coffee, cocoa, and sugar--for export. This way they can get dollars and other currecies from the industrialized world, with which to buy arms and other things their governments feel necessary. Of course, the folks at home may be starving because they can hardly eat the particular crops they are growing. This is a gross simplification of a highly complex problem. Yes, there are multi-national corporations involved here as well as corrupt governments. And there are some areas that actually are populated beyond their capacity for food production. But in the majority of cases hunger is a political and economic problem, not just a matter of overpopulation. As to the matter of education and overpopulation: even in the third world there is a negative correlation between education, and family size and hunger. The reasons are pretty obvious: education allows a more effective use of labor (and in the third world the size of one's family has a lot to do with one's productive ability), enables the employment of technology (e.g. irrigation), allows for better communication and coordination, and last but not least, gives people something to do besides making babies (and enables them to stop if they want to). Once again, a simplification. The need for tools and education has been known for as long as aid programs have existed; this business about `liberal hand-outs' is a crock--sort of a spillover from the criticisms of welfare here at home. But a starving person is not about to plow a field. In areas of mass starvation the dead are in some ways the lucky ones, as the survivors must contend with the environment of death, disease, retarded development, and crowding. Many of the surviving children will be permanently brain-damaged or crippled by malnutrition. These people need to be fed before they can be taught how to feed themselves. -Ed Hall decvax!randvax!edhall