Friday, January 15, 2010

Haiti future

The politics and economy of Haiti remind me of the Sicilian 4-way deadlock, in which everyone moves into the intersection at the same time and everybody winds up blocked by the side of someone else’s car. An aid group planted mango trees so farmers could have a steady income from selling mangos, but they returned to find that he needed money this year and chopped them down for charcoal.

In one sense Haiti is a land begging for colonialism/protectorate—some outsiders who can cut the Gordian knots and make the necessary but unpopular reforms.

Yet Haiti is a poster-child for what a mess colonialism can leave behind. For some reason figuring out what’s best for somebody else doesn’t work too terribly well. Even if you’re right.

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