Author: Jeffrey D. Sachs
Another assignment of the Minor International Aid and Development is reading a book about development. Because of the lectures, we got very familiar with Jeffrey Sachs. Jeffrey Sachs, a very intelligent ambitious man, and is very optimistic talking about the end of poverty in the world. He is also very positive about the help of aid on development. However, I am not so sure. We learned in class that developing countries often become dependent on foreign countries because of aid. For example, if you feed malnourished children, the farmers further down the village will not sell anything anymore. Because of this they don't use their harvest anymore, also become independent of aid and even forget the skills how to use agriculture for food and income.
The sentence: teach me how to fish instead of giving me fish, is very accurate.
Other examples of downsides of aid are: government corruption, injustice and gender inequality. Because of these downsides I was very interested in this book and curious how Sachs is going to refute the downsides of aid.
"Let the future say of our generation that we sent forth mighty currents of hope, and that we worked together to heal the world.'
Summery
Jeffrey D. Sachs lays out how poverty has been beaten in the past, how - in realistic, attainable steps - we can make a real difference for the one-fifth of humanity who still live in extreme poverty. How we can find partnerships with developing countries and wealthy counterparts to escape the poverty trap, how little it will cost and how everybody can help. He shows how extreme poverty can be ended by sticking to the United Nations aid donation target of 0.7% of the gross national product. Sachs is pointing that the market economy can be the answer to the world's problems. Although he briefs some failings, the book makes no qualms about the belief that development will occur mostly (and even only) through hard “capitalist” market growth. Despite the fact that he is advocating for sticking to the United Nations to alleviate extreme poverty, Sachs criticizes the US government, as well as organizations such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, based on the way trade has been run.
He also spends a fraction of the book on health-related topics, looking to establish public health methods to reduce the burden of the world's biggest diseases.
My point of view
Reviewing this book is a bit odd and dubious, because the book was written in 2004. That was eighteen years ago. I think a lot has changed; think about the digital age, climate change, the Covid pandemic and very recently the war between Russia and Ukraine. Also, I have learned that poverty is much more complex than economic growth, income and money. Such events - mentioned earlier - have had a huge impact on development and poverty as well. Poverty is a multi dimensional process; instead of focusing on economic parameters, it focuses on three parameters: education, health, and standard of living. The dimension of education is reflected by the two indicators of years of schooling and school enrollment. Secondly, the health dimension is measured by nutrition and child mortality. Thirdly, the standard of living is summarized by a range of factors, like the presence of electricity, adequate sanitation, drinking water, flooring material, cooking fuel and the ownership of assets. Poverty is not about money and income only, but a much wider concept. Knowing this fact makes this book, in my point of view, way to focussed on economic growth and how this indicator is the most important one to make an end of poverty. Looking at poverty nowadays, I think Jeffrey Sachs should focus more on the multidimensional meaning of poverty.
Jeffrey Sachs uses a neoliberalism and modernism approach and is mentioning the advantages. But, as we have learned in class these approaches come with some downsides for developing. Think about cultural loss, human exploitation, environmental exploitation and a too Western approach that can be a neocolonial tool that increases the dependency of poorer nations on the West. What I think is surprising and suspicious at the same time, is that Sachs doesn't mention anything about these weaknesses.
One of the most difficult aspects of reading this book for me personally was a lack of understanding of economics. The arguments provided appear reasonable, and the optimist in me wants to believe them, but without an economics education, I find it difficult to evaluate them critically.
I think it is simplistic to believe that poverty is caused by a lack of decisiveness in economics, and that this could be solved by reading a 400-page book.
As I am reading your review, especially the part where you show concern for the approaches Sachs uses, I cant help but be interested in how he came to these idea's. I agree that it is to simplistic to think that economical decisiveness can solve all the problems. I am not sure if I would want to read this book as it indeed has become outdated in comparison to all the changes that have happened.