“...rich countries had also hurt poor countries spiritually by belittling or trying to wipe out their own cultural and spiritual traditions.”
***
To be fair, we have also tried to teach the third world to do for themselves without a lot of success. We have sent missionaries and lay people to teach abstinence and faithfulness in African countries where AIDS is rampant. We have sent experts to teach how to farm successfully during prolonged periods of drought. All of this has basically fallen upon deaf ears. Oh sure, they may listen very politely, but then they go out and do things the same way they always have. When you ask why, when obviously, what they are doing is detrimental to their well being, they will say, “it’s tradition.” Their stubborn refusal to let go of “tradition” and follow a better way is what is ultimately killing them.
They were doing a lot better before the rise of liberalism and liberation theology. Much like the african-americans in America, the african-americans in Africa were poor but proud, and determined to get better, but liberalism and marxism have destroyed them.