An island (I do not want to name it in order not to steer any emotions) lived with a primitive lifestyle with no modern medicine, no clean water… The natives were hunters, had a bit of agriculture… Four out of every five children were dying at birth or in early childhood. People in general were living short lives, and were considered old at their early forties. They had no TV, no philharmonic, no cars, no freeways; their houses were built from mud bricks, not one single high-rise. The tribes on the island were constantly at war, killing each other and using captured enemies as slaves. There were about two hundred thousand people on the island. Maybe less, maybe more, no one knew for sure.

Then comes an “industrialized and educated” man saying that this situation is unacceptable. First we will help you to clean the water. You will now drink good water. Second we will build a hospital and you will not be losing so many children at birth and will live much longer lives. Also you will have democracy that we will explain to you how it works and you will not be fighting each other and killing each other.

And the good men of progress succeeded beyond belief. Now because of the modern medicine, clean water, vitamins, no wars and people living much longer – the population of the island is grown to 7 million people. There is not enough food for everyone. Nothing the islanders produce can be sold abroad or exchanged for food. Tall buildings are built all over the island, and the guys who are in power are corrupt like their colleagues in the western world or perhaps even more.

The islanders can’t live without outside help and when help comes, the strongmen and gangs take it to themselves. They enslave people to work for them and kill them at will. There is no effective justice on the island, and most of the population is starving even more then during the good old days of tribal wars. They hate each other even more then during the good old days of hunting and fishing in quiet lagoons. The only thing that unites all islanders is their hate of the civilized white people who have so many things that islanders do not have, but want. Now the islanders dream about killing all the white man in the world and using those wonderful things themselves.

Leon A. Weinstein
http://leonweinstein.com/

Author of “Looking for Hugh: The Capitalist Guidebook”