Good intentions

Consider Julius Nyerere,^W first President of Tanzania, praised for his principles but who brought economic disaster on his country, and with it great suffering. In his farewell speech, commenting on his economic policies, he said "I failed. Let's admit it."^[1]

Compare Sukarno^W and Suharto^W, the first two presidents of Indonesia. The first was a much-loved leader who led his nation to independence, and then through much turmoil and into a stagnant economy. The second is widely regarded as having been brutal and corrupt, but he followed some of the advice of his (Friedmanite?) advisors, a group of technocrats nicknamed the Berkeley Mafia,^W and led Indonesia through many years of growth.^[2]

The Dutch government instituted a number of programs^{[verification needed]} - in particular the Ethical Policy^W - which were intended to improve the welfare of the native Indonesians,^[3] but these were plagued with problems and in many way made things worse and placed restrictions on the freedom of the colonial subjects.

Official development assistance

Modern foreign aid programs (and to an extent welfare policies in wealthy nations) are often criticized for being ineffective (inappropriate solutions that end up unused) or even causing harm (creating a handout mentality, putting rich foreign aid workers in a poor context and causing envy, supporting corrupt authorities).^[4]

Notes

↑ Karl Maier; Into the House of the Ancestors; New York Times; 1998
↑ It must be noted though that even on economics he had many failings. It is said that he did not follow some advice on liberalization of the economy that would have interfered with the business interests of his family and cronies, and these were probably major contributors to the 1998 monetary crisis and the economic problems which continue to plague Indonesia even now in 2008.
↑ though of course without stopping the exploitation and control by the Dutch.
↑ A summary of some of the criticisms, with an aid workers own responses, is given at Customer Review of The Lords of Poverty: The Power, Prestige, and Corruption of the International Aid Business by Graham Hancock - review by Sithara Batcha, May 29, 2006, Amazon.com

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[1] Karl Maier; Into the House of the Ancestors; New York Times; 1998

[2] It must be noted though that even on economics he had many failings. It is said that he did not follow some advice on liberalization of the economy that would have interfered with the business interests of his family and cronies, and these were probably major contributors to the 1998 monetary crisis and the economic problems which continue to plague Indonesia even now in 2008.

[3] though of course without stopping the exploitation and control by the Dutch.

[4] A summary of some of the criticisms, with an aid workers own responses, is given at Customer Review of The Lords of Poverty: The Power, Prestige, and Corruption of the International Aid Business by Graham Hancock - review by Sithara Batcha, May 29, 2006, Amazon.com

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