Secondary Philanthropy
Society now truly has a new idol to look up to. None other than Bill Gates. A philanthropic individual, who apparently cannot sleep at night due to his concerns for the unnecessary sufferings of others. Reading “The Guardian” today, the editor commented upon his huge financial donation to Gavi (Global Alliance for Vaccination and Immunisation) of $75m a year for ten years. This might even prove to be “... a turning point in the fortunes of the most deprived of the world's continents.” Brilliant, it now seems that capitalism works fine and that everything is once again alright with the world. For as we all know, only too well, Third World problems are caused by bad-fortune, and it takes a billionaire Westerner of the likes of Gates to sort out these most unfortunate individuals.
So, Bill Gates then. How did he attain his vast wealth? Let us consider this. He set up a company called Microsoft. The ultimate capitalist enterprise. He embraced global capitalism to such a degree, in the development of his company that he is now under trial in Europe for infringements of anti-monopoly laws. He made millions by destroying others through anti-competitive business tactics. To stress this point further: he has accumulated billions from an unfair global system that allows for some to get incredibly rich while others starve. Every penny he has made had been by actively-more so in fact, one could say inspiring- this state of affairs.
Now many might not agree with my above detailing on the causes of global inequality but I ask you to allow me to explain, to shatter the myth. Africa and other so called “Third World” countries are not unlucky places with poor resources that are plagued by almost perpetual bad governance. They are exploited and manipulated places, which are conditioned by their ability to serve Western interests and maintain the almost mystical state of a good business environment. They are kept poor, while we, in the West, stay rich. Still unconvinced? Read anything by Chomsky or David Edwards for an infinitely more trenchant explanation of how the world works.
It is a perverse injustice that a billionaire can exist in this world while others die of malnutrition. It is a callous media distortion when a billionaire, an associate of the exploitative status quo, throws a few crumbs to the people he has exploited to be acclaimed by even such an ostensibly liberal newspaper as “The Guardian”.
Why should philanthropist, however good their intentions, have anything to do with the distributions of basic medical products such as vaccines? Should this not be the function of local Government and its Health Services? What will happen to these individuals once they are immunized? Will it solve all there problems? It all goes down to the basic premise of treating the cause or the effect. We in the West always choose the latter, because it allows us to self-deceive ourselves into believing that we can continue living our lives as normal while also giving us the impression that we are really helping those in need. Is it not bizarre that this Mr Bill Gates has made billions by selling computer software? Yet half the world hasn’t even got access to a telephone. If there is a more lucid example of inequality, I would be suprized to hear it.
I am inclined to see this donation as being what I call secondary philanthropy. Secondary in so far as, not only is this donation of no loss to him, but it is impossible in our system to amass so much money without partaking in the very un- philanthropic act of exploitation. It is not the preserve of the rich to give some of their money whenever they feel like it. It is the preserve of global sanity that nobody should be in a position to do anything of the likes. The fact that none of the major media organisations picked up on this is an outrage and I feel inclined to inveigh against this. As Voltaire once said:
“As long as people believe in absurdities, they will continue to commit atrocities. “