Why jeffrey sachs is wrong

Why in the world would you criticize such work without also throwing in some praise for the sake of balance? Moreover, given the stature of writers commenting on this post, it would not surprise me if you are a great development thinker yourself.

But nevertheless, I can still ask, have done as much as Sachs to end poverty amongst the poorest of the poor? Probably not. I just wish we would acknowledge the efforts before trying to tear people down. Hi Theo, thanks for the response. It seems I need to be a bit clearer in saying exactly what I mean, not exactly what I can in 2 minutes as I run out of the office on a Friday! I didnt say it was valuable for bringing harmony I would merely suggest that as Sachs IS such a pivotal figure a profile of him is both interesting and I believe worthwhile.

The real work of development funding is done behind closed doors where billions are allocated. Again we have to separate development and humanitarian aid here- but since Sachs has the admirable goal of eradicating poverty one-off shots of money are not going to achieve his target.

I did not attack Bono or other celebrities per-se. Again I needed to chose my words with more precision.

I do not criticise Bono for writing the preface, I would however question why Bono is deemed the most appropriate person to write it by Sachs. Again, being rather sceptical, it seems like a book-selling tactic rather than a genuine belief that Bono has more valuable insight than anyone else. Lastly- have I done as much. Simple answer is no. Again I think I presented my ideas fairly poorly in the last post. I do not dislike Sachs, think he is bad, immoral, stupid or any other insult.

I disagree with his ideas at a fundamental level. It is not a case of who has done more, it is a case of everyone having a legitimate voice. Sachs certainly has pre-eminence but for that very reason his work needs to be held to account all the more, while as you rightly point out praising the good he does. Sachs IS trying to do the right thing, but I believe in the wrong way, and as a result I read this blog and commented. Hey Joe, thanks for clarifying your views.

I should clarify my own experience. I am concerned the sort of vigorous criticism now being applied to Sachs will result in his burn-out, along with the fragmentation and collapse of the movement to eradicate poverty. I am sensitive to this because I have experienced it personally on a far smaller scale as a community organizer. Great leaders are human beings who often give up when the are being attacked from all sides, especially if they have no official responsibilities or constituencies to whom they must answer.

I think better listening will yield better targeted projects and the trend toward measuring the effectiveness of development projects will yield greater dividends. And his ethical drive will push everyone to higher standards. Further, I think the Millennium Villages Project is a great idea, but will require lots more tinkering and would probably be yielding greater dividends already if so much funding had not dried up with the recession.

And of course, comment away. I have been studying the field backwards and forwardness and dedicated a large portion of my upcoming book to the question of moral duties to the poorest of the poorest, but I consider myself laregly an outsider to the community. For that reason, though, I am particularly sensitive to the need to honor those like Sachs that have done so much, and I think this applies equally to someone who has done 10 years of work in the field and written a book on development.

For other reviews see here. Email Address. October 31, at am. October 31, at pm. November 1, at am. November 1, at pm. November 2, at am. November 3, at pm. November 4, at am. November 5, at pm.

November 12, at pm. November 15, at pm. November 16, at pm. November 19, at am. October 27, at pm. May 28, at am. There was no market for ginger, apparently. And, despite some early interest from buyers in Japan, no one wanted banana flour. But in the villages Munk profiled, Sachs seems to be wearing blinders. All of the interventions involved — health, agriculture, infrastructure, education and business seed money — make sense if carried out carefully, over time.

Munk details his fight with international aid donors who were refusing to distribute insecticide-treated bed nets for free because they favoured a market-based approach whereby people would pay a small amount for each net.

Through increasingly ruthless tirades, he wound up alienating potential allies who want to defeat malaria just as badly as he does. But history will show that Sachs was absolutely right. We have since seen that the free model has allowed for much broader distribution of bed nets — and much greater reductions in malaria — than market models. In the end, I hope poverty fighters will not let the MVP experience stop them from investing and taking risks.

In the world of international development, critics hold up every failure as proof that aid is like throwing money down a rat hole. I greatly admire Sachs for putting his ideas and reputation on the line. After all, he could have a good life doing nothing more than teaching two classes a semester and pumping out armchair advice in academic journals.

He rolls up his sleeves. He puts his theories into action. He drives himself as hard as anyone I know. I suspect that Sachs, like all relentless thinkers and doers, will learn from his missteps and come back with stronger ideas and approaches. Sachs will always be a squeaky wheel that roars — and the world will be a better place for it. Published in collaboration with Project Syndicate. Confronted with the inability of his villages to sustain themselves financially, he kept changing the plan, improvising frantically: One moment the answer was to attract tourists, the next it was to transform peasants—who for generations had struggled to grow just enough food to survive—into credit-worthy entrepreneurs harvesting cash crops for export.

Sachs had, to a large extent, staked his career on the Millennium Villages—as had the economists who came to work for him. So it is unsurprising that their progress reports put a positive spin on things.

There was some progress in the Millennium Villages—rising income, better health—but Sachs ignored the fact that similar progress had been recorded in many of the parts of Africa untouched by his project. This is unsurprising: In recent years, the economies of sub-Saharan Africa have been among the fastest-growing in the world. Maybe it would have been much worse. Or maybe it would have been better. We have no idea. The weakness that dooms most plans like the Millennium Villages to failure is best summarized by the Yale political scientist James C.

Though much smaller in scale than these examples—and certainly less deadly—the Millennium Villages Project proceeded along similar lines. Sachs seems defeated by Africa, but defeated in the manner of charismatic savior figures everywhere, for whom setbacks only ever spur quests for new, bigger stages. He campaigned to run the World Bank. Munk asks where the money will come from to finish the work in the Millennium Villages.

California desert town takes back the night, wins rare "Dark Sky" award. The U. The International Astronomical Union has established a committee to finalize a list of official star names. Some companies offer unofficial naming rights for purchase. But the voices of certain communities are often left behind.