Buffett and Gates misguided philanthropism

Warren Buffett's $30 billion act of charity, given to Bill and Melinda Gates's foundation, is certainly going to achieve more than a comparable $30 billion spent by governments, but is it really "a defining moment in the history of philanthropy" as some people say? Will the application of Buffett's money and Bill Gates's brilliant mind really change the world? "No," says the Ayn Rand Institute's Yaron Brook.

What the world's 'have-nots' have not, says Brook, is freedom and capitalism. Spreading freedom and capitalism will do more for the world's poor than all the world's charity ever will -- if Buffett and Gates truly want to 'make a difference' they should get behind efforts to spread freedom and the ideas and institutions that underpin free markets.

“While Gates and Buffett are brilliant businessmen, they and other philanthropists ignore the fundamental cause of poverty, including poor health care, around the world: lack of capitalism. Wherever and to whatever extent capitalism exists, the productive ability of individuals is unleashed, enabling them to make their lives progressively better. The West used to be as poor as Africa today; it is capitalism that made us rich.”

“If the tribalist or religious dictatorships of Africa and the Middle East do not renounce their destructive political systems and adopt capitalism, even $100 billion in charitable handouts will make little difference in their lives.”

“Anyone who is truly committed to helping the world’s poor should first and foremost use their charitable dollars and their public platforms for the promotion of capitalism.”

LINKS: Buffett and Gates ignore the fundamental cause of world poverty - Yaron Brook, Ayn Rand Institute

TAGS: Politics-World, Ethics, Economics, Objectivism