[IronJack]

So then the rational conclusion is that Cameroon's poverty is the result of corruption, nothing more. It isn't about capitalism's crushing the frail human spirit or the beleaguered proletariat being sacrificed at the altar of corporate profit or any of that other Marxist garbage. It's because thieves and crooks abound in the government, and the people are too stupid or too powerless to do anything about them.

Then what sense does it make to keep sending good money after bad, to keep lining the pockets of these tinhorn dictators in the vain hope that a few farthings will somehow trickle down to the needy? Wouldn't it be better to overthrow the crooks, install our own government, and direct the country toward prosperity, with an eye toward eventually kicking it out of the nest to fly on its own?

Wouldn't a better solution be Empire?

[DeweyCA]

Cameroon is just another example of what is also happening in other countries, like Zimbabwe. In both cases, the colonial power had left the country in decent shape, and in both cases, the ensuing tribal chief thief has ruined the country with corruption. But hey, they are free!! Giving money to corrupt dictators just enables them to stay in power for a longer time. Mexico, do you hear this?

[gleeaikin]

"Wouldn't it be better to overthrow the crooks, install our own government, etc."

Well, we can all see how that is working out in Iraq. How much extra taxes are we willing to pay to finance the military we would need to implement such a policy?

Actually one concrete idea might be for the World Bank, etc., to stop funding such large projects unless they practiced proper oversight. If I hire a contractor to do a major project on my house, I give him 1/3 to get permits and buy materials, a second 1/3 when the project is half done to my satisfaction, and the final 1/3 when it is completed. If that library had international funding, the people who authorized the payments should be sued for misfeasance and nonfeasance at the very least.

[Jim Noble]

Wouldn't a better solution be Empire?

Well, yes, but it can't be done.

The lives of Africans were immeasurably better under the Union Jack. If anyone ever writes a before and after book, you will start crying after page 10 and be unable to finish.

However, running the world, and policing it, requires the transformation of society beginning with primary school. The English did as good a job of this as anyone could ever hope for - but within 3 generations they were sick of it.

The short-term price is doable, the long-term price is too high, and if it was too high for the Brits, it's too high for anyone else.