Fascinating two comments

Submitted by Ron Thompson (United States), Jul 26, 2016 at 13:15

Utterly fascinating two comments and suggestion - Is there any parallel to a country suggesting that its aid from a generous benefactor be wound down? Perhaps with the later stages of the Marshall Plan?

I suspend judgment for the time being whether I agree, but would note a very impressive book I just finished, The Rise and Fall of Nations by Ruchir Sharma (in which Israel gets favorable if very slight mention).

In its in-depth history of numerous countries over the last 50 years (and longer), the author never credits foreign aid with a major role in a country's successful development, while that 'other kind of aid', domestic in the form of natural resources, especially Oil, is repeatedly shown to be far more often a curse than a benefit, especially as it tends to prevent sound, balanced, long-term and sustainable economic development.

It is perhaps perversely encouraging that, while the author is studiedly neutral as to forms of governance (and has little or nothing to say about Islam's role as an impediment to development), he does highlight that no large countries are doing worse as of March, 2016, than Turkey, Russia, and China, for all of whom he sees a bleak next 5 years, the longest he is willing to prognosticate.

Also, no large country has better prospects in his view than the United States.

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