Live 8

Apparently Celine Dion heard it from the crowd when she appeared live via satelite. Funny.

I salute the effort it must have taken to get 8 huge concerts organized and all the artists that appeared. And I salute the motives behind the movement: reduce poverty in Africa.

But I can't believe that people seriously believe that if western nations forgive African debt and increase aid that things will be substantially different. I'm all for increasing aid, as long as it's tied to improved freedom and the rule of law, but is that likely? For the last 30 years African nations have been running themselves in to the ground while we turn a blind eye.

What is needed is pressure on African governments to treat their citizens with respect, guard individual liberty and the rule of law, and allow markets to work. In return, western nations need to deliver targeted aid to those that comply, as well as reduce tarrifs and barriers that hurt third world farmers and business owners.

We've seen millions in east Asia lifted out of desparate poverty in the last 15 years due to the growth of the economies in China and India. The same thing will work in Africa.