Prof. Chang teaches economics at Cambridge. His book "The Bad Samaritans" was an eye-opener for me. He discusses the way Britain and the West have grown economically and compares that to the advice American and other institutions give to emerging countries. The two stories, one of actual growth and the other of patterns and plans the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization give to third world and developing countries. He argues that sheltering a country's emerging businesses from strong competition is essential to developing viable ones.
At one point, he uses a telling example of his 6 year old son. He knows that the boy is old enough to do some work and that children his age are indeed working in many parts of the world. He really does want his son to have a good life and realizes that supporting the boy financially, economically, psychologically and in all other ways is important. A 6 year old, in today's world, a 16 year old and maybe even a 26 year old, are young and vulnerable and need protection, support and assistance.
Americans are big on guts and independence. Yet, it is clear when you think about it, that as one of the columnists at Wired puts it, we are all born naked, helpless and unable to care for ourselves. Maybe if all one wants to do is carry baskets of ore out of a mine all day, a long period of support is not needed. But most people want a productive and happy life for their children. In today's world, that definitely means a good and full education.
As the saying goes, a teaspoon of water is enough to quench any fire at the beginning. Everyone has a beginning when they are just starting out and could be scooped up by enemies, whether fur-covered predators or dead-end jobs.
