a poverty of ideas

Submitted by Vijay Dandapani (United States), Dec 21, 2004 at 10:35

The Palestinian situation is notable, not for a lack of aid, but a poverty of ideas. Daniel Pipes is only partially right in arguing that aid will do nothing to bring the Palestinians out of their present morass but errs in suggesting that it follow recognition of Israel's right to exist. The eminent economist Peter Bauer long argued that aid actually fosters a culture of dependency and decried the myth of a self-perpetuating poverty. The Palestinians like numerous peoples in Africa are eminently capable of creating a viable state if only they were freed from the shackles of a controlling and corrupt leadership and allowed to trade freely within themselves, with Israel and the larger world. With real free trade "popular" support for the destruction of Israel as espoused even by Abbas and certainly by the late Arafat will self-destruct . Unfortunately, Palestinian leaders as well as those in the thuggish regimes surrounding Israel have little interest in the plight of Palestinians and aid only serves to fuel movements like the intifada which have a single malign focus.

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