So, what's your plan to save Africa?

This morning as I was rediscovering the outside world via drudgereport.com, I came across a couple of articles about Bono's [RED] campaign. The first was pointing out the meager 18 million dollars raised by the first year's efforts. The second one I read was about a spin-off organization, buylesscrap.org. There was a third Bono/[RED] campaign related article about Bono's guest editor-ness of Vanity Fair in the coming month. In case some of you are not familiar with the [RED] campaign, the idea is that you buy products like iPods, Motorola Razr mobile phones, sunglasses, designer tshirts, credit cards, etc. and some of the money goes to help the AIDS problem in Africa.

A lot of people are really bashing the idea. I don't particularly think it's awesome, but I do like some things about it:

1. Bono. He just rocks at life.
2. Red is a good color.
3. It DOES help some people in Africa
4. It has long term potential

The only thing I don't really like about it is that feeds off of the Western Culture's consumerism. I don't really like anything about consumerism, but I do like healthy economics. If you think of economics using the metaphor of the human body, you'll understand what I'm getting at.

Starving people have little body fat, and very hungry people's bodies use what they eat vastly more efficiently than most tubby Houstonians. I'm pretty close to the middle of that, I take in quite a bit more than the recommended 2000 calories each day (5000 calories/day), but I burn a whole heck of a lot more than most people. I also have about 8% body fat. I'm a really healthy guy (mostly due to God's blessing, but also due to a healthy amount of exercise, etc.). If my body were an economic situation, I would have high cash flow, and relatively low savings (by American and Western standards). This is a very healthy economy. Most healthy people eat their 2000 calories (maybe a bit more or less) and have a fair bit more "savings." (15-25% body fat sound fair?) These people are still very healthy. They might not be in the best situation, but they are in no danger at all, actually they are a little safer than I am. If they were economies, they would be Western economies.

What I'm saying is that consumerism isn't the healthiest of American economic attributes, but it does the trick. I eat a lot, but I burn a lot. Donald Trump makes a lot, so he spends a lot. I burn more of what I eat than Donnie spends of what he makes, but that's why he's fatter than I am.

So back to Bono, his [RED] Campaign feeds off of Donnie's fat. I think that's great, he's making our economics better. It might not be the most effective of methods for fighting AIDS (some may liken it to feeding the poor with table scraps, but hey, we've got a whole crapload of table scraps!), but it is progress. And progress is what these people need.

On to buylesscrap.org. I think that this is going to be a much more efficient effort. But not more effective. If everyone would do it, great. It would be a solid way of fighting the problem of wealth distribution. The thing is, we Westerners don't want to give our wealth to the Africans, we want everyone else to do it.

I love both organizations and I am so happy that they exist and that the founders have created them from their desire to help those less fortunate than themselves. I work for an organization very similar to each of them, with some differences that I'll discuss next post. The thing is, they don't really address the root of the problem. Africa is not a problem for the West to come in and fix. Africa is a home for millions of people. You wouldn't be too happy if someone came in when you were having money problems and took what you had and treated you like a child. Africa is a lot of people with some very serious problems with very complicated causes. Wouldn't it make sense that the solution was equally complicated? We should help Africans fix Africa, not try to fix Africa for them.