This is a good point, well articulated and I agree with you.
When I say “it has nothing to do with responsibility” I’m thinking of what motivates the USA to provide this aid. Maybe I’m a cynic but I don’t believe they would ever spend money in a foreign nation simply because it’s the responsible thing to do.
But yeah, they are responsible for multiple reasons, as the ladder analogy explains, and as another commenter mentioned, for the part the USA and other privileged nations have played in creating the problems these aid programs are addressing, through colonialism and climate change. The USA specifically also did immeasurable damage to this part of the world going to war with Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.
I see, thanks for clarifying! I agree with all of that.
I wouldn’t even say it’s a cynical view, rather a realpolitik view. USAID was started and continued as a way to develop soft power and counter Soviet influence in the world.
This is a good point, well articulated and I agree with you.
When I say “it has nothing to do with responsibility” I’m thinking of what motivates the USA to provide this aid. Maybe I’m a cynic but I don’t believe they would ever spend money in a foreign nation simply because it’s the responsible thing to do.
But yeah, they are responsible for multiple reasons, as the ladder analogy explains, and as another commenter mentioned, for the part the USA and other privileged nations have played in creating the problems these aid programs are addressing, through colonialism and climate change. The USA specifically also did immeasurable damage to this part of the world going to war with Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.
I see, thanks for clarifying! I agree with all of that. I wouldn’t even say it’s a cynical view, rather a realpolitik view. USAID was started and continued as a way to develop soft power and counter Soviet influence in the world.