I remember an Oxfam advert which went along the lines of ‘Give a man a fish and he can feed himself for a day. Teach a man to fish and he can feed himself for life’.
That obviously makes sense, so long as fish stocks hold up of course.
But lets take it a bit further. Why should we be teaching everyone to fish? Why not let a man work in a Nike (or whoever) ’sweat shop’. Then he can earn money which he can use to buy fish, or meat, or vegetables, or clothing, all produced by people far more skilled than he in producing such things.
Of course, as the man works, he learns more skills, he becomes more valuable, he will get paid more, or a competing ’sweat shop’ hires him for a better paid job. He will have disposable income, he won’t need his children to work to make a living, instead they can go to school, they can then in turn earn even higher wages.
For women, the situation is even better. They can be hired to work now, they can earn their own wages. This gives them more financial freedom and makes them less dependent upon a husband or family. If they’re abused they can more easily leave and survive, they will become more educated over time, through work and school, leading to greater demand for equality - and that equality being given.
Higher income means even more diversification, mobile phones can become common, the Internet may arrive. More knowledge about the rest of the world and more ideas. Its a virtuous circle.
Of course, none of this will happen without property rights and the rule of law. Why risk investing in a country if the government might turn around and confiscate your assets on a whim? How are ordinary people expected to make investments in their own life if those investments may be confiscated or take years of paperwork and bribes to secure?
So lets not teach a man to fish, lets let a man choose where to work and give him opportunities. Self sufficiency means poverty, its through trade and the division of labour that we get rich.
