Interference with other nations.

[TheAnimus]

Now this isn't going to be a moan about big nations and their foreign policy, this is about the do gooders, often Guardian reading level of intelligence.

Whilst visionary philosophers of our time, such as Maxi Jazz (pr/t)each us that Inaction is akin to mass destruction, its very important to remember that even the best intentions can have disastrous effects.

So the example that starts this, a friend of mine has just spent a week in a true 3rd world environment, at one point her guide took the group through the village his wife was from, and they made camp there. The people where nice n friendly, at one point someone asked why they didn't have a teacher there, the village elders explained that they raised some $300, but that was short of the $450 needed.

My friend decides to make up the difference herself, whats 0.3% of your bonus after all. The thing is, another person in the group decides that this is just one village on the route of many that must all suffer similar problems. They suggest that they should look at funding all 20 places they stopped in (nice way to do charity eh!).

This is where she proves that she's actually got the analytical mind, no she says. The reason the village had raised $300 is that was what the rate used to be, regrettably there is a shortage of teachers, almost 1:2 ratio. So each village is in a bidding war with another village for one teacher, now these are very poor areas, as such the wealth distribution is piratically linear, meaning the village that will attract the teacher, is the one who has the most people in, and quite probably the most children assuming here that the teacher is capable of teaching all the children without any problems, this is the village that deserves it most.

By actually making a donation to help the home village of the guide's wife, a village that was possibly more deserving has been deprived of a teacher, that might of helped produce more teachers. Someone else high on the feeling of doing 'good' wanting to expand this could have disastrous results.

Charity is kinda a bitch init.

[kalniel]

That's kind of obvious. Same reason it's best not to give cash to the drunk tramp.

Don't see what it has to do with inteferance with other nations though.

[Brucelles]

The logic against helping is nice and simple, but the influx of money may actually influence more teachers to join up, or fewer to leave the profession. The impact on the hypothetical larger village may be a short-term problem, but if there were a regular and permanent improvement in the financial inducement to teachers the supply would increase to match demand.

It's nothing like wasting money on drunks or parasites with their kids or pets sitting on a blanket in the high-street.

[TheAnimus]

The logic against helping is nice and simple, but the influx of money may actually influence more teachers to join up, or fewer to leave the profession. The impact on the hypothetical larger village may be a short-term problem, but if there were a regular and permanent improvement in the financial inducement to teachers the supply would increase to match demand.

It's nothing like wasting money on drunks or parasites with their kids or pets sitting on a blanket in the high-street.

Indeed, it was just a way of trying to show the damage people will course when they inject money which to us has little value, into a place where its above the average annual wage.

And as you say, this is nothing like giving money to a tramp you might find on a Manchester street.

[Saracen]

There's an old (and often misquoted) saying about how the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Despite the disputed and somewhat unclear literary provenance of that remark, it's nevertheless true. Just because you did something for what seemed like good reasons doesn't mean it'll have the effect you intended.

After all, you might invade a country intending to overthrow a despotic and brutal dictator and destroy his weapons of mass destruction, but that doesn't mean that's what you'll end up achieving .... especially if it turns out he didn't actually have the WMD you thought he did. Oops.

[TheAnimus]

After all, you might invade a country intending to overthrow a despotic and brutal dictator and destroy his weapons of mass destruction, but that doesn't mean that's what you'll end up achieving .... especially if it turns out he didn't actually have the WMD you thought he did. Oops.

It was intresting because most of the che gavara poster toting pot smoking gardian reading english students who are going to get a 2nd class honours degree from a redbrick university.... Can't stand invasion of Iraq etc, yet these are often the first to go out of there way to buy 'FairTrade' branded products, which really do interfere with the local economy.