scott <sco### [at] scottcom> wrote:
> > Rich countries are dumping free clothing by the ton to poor countries,
> > especially in Africa. Some *African* sociologists are pleading the rich
> > countries to stop that because they are killing the local textile economy
> > with it.

> You'd need to weigh up what was better, having a local textile economy 
> with a group of people unable to afford clothes, or no local textile 
> economy but everyone gets clothes. I don't know for sure what the answer 
> would be, but I suspect it's better that everyone gets free clothes 
> (some proportion of the ones who worked in the textile companies would 
> find other jobs). It seems the majority of Africans agree otherwise 
> there wouldn't be the "problem".

The problem is the overabundance. It's not a question of "either everybody
gets free clothes or nobody does."

Helping the poor who cannot afford clothes is ok. Saturating the market
with free stuff that even the people who could afford it otherwise is not,
because that kills even the little economy that there could be.

The best way to help a nation is not to give it as much free stuff as it
wants. It's to help it get its economy running.

-- 
                                                          - Warp

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