[realgeniushere]

So I agree it has to do with bad governance. But you deflect all blame away from the people in those poorly governed country, instead blaming wealthy people in other countries. I’ll say though, the worst thing the West has done to the third world is insist on democracy. Peasants don’t know what they need government to do, and the political classes in those countries don’t have the maturity to steer them.

[jongjong]

People in those poorly governed countries don't always have a choice. You could be living in such a country, see everything that's wrong with your political system and yet be punished for it nevertheless. There is a flawed assumption which infers that because the majority of people in a specific country are idiots, everyone who lives in that country should be punished... Imagine how hard life is for intelligent people in those countries who are ruled by corrupt fools, surrounded by gullible fools and utterly powerless to do anything about it. People can't choose the country they were born in so they should not be punished on that basis.

[robertlagrant]

> so they should not be punished on that basis

I keep seeing the word "punished" used as though there are some parents somwhere who are meteing out deliberate action against their children. It's not like that. It's just bad situations happening to adults and children alike.

The only antidote we know of is having democracy and free(ish) markets to allow as much agency as possible to accumulate to individuals, rather than to state officials.

[realgeniushere]

That is how many people see the world. Mankind is collectively some kind of God that is responsible for your individual plight.

[sokoloff]

> Imagine how hard life is for intelligent people in those countries who are ruled by corrupt idiots, surrounded by idiots and utterly powerless to do anything about it.

I think the "those countries" in your sentence could very easily include many rich countries as well as the set of countries you were originally contemplating.

[realgeniushere]

If you put your hand in the fire, no one has punished you with a burn.

[imtringued]

Ok but that doesn't explain why the house is on fire or why it should stay that way.