The Bottom Leader
Reading a book now called “The Bottom Billion” by Paul Collier. It’s all about how the world can help the “bottom billion” people - that is, poorest, most desperate people - on the planet. What I really like is that he explains economic rationales why certain projects (e.g. aid projects) sometimes fail spectacularly.
Anyways, what’s been so striking while reading this is that Collier’s basically discussing the absolute bare necessities one needs for a country to function - and they’re basically the same things we have to grapple with here, particularly in the age of Trump:
1. The importance of checks and balances, and publicly promoting their importance (Pg 147)
2. Importance of an independent media to hold the elected accountable (Pg. 148)
3. The problem of money in politics and campaign finance laws (Pg 149)
4. The importance of financial transparency (Pg. 141)
5. Patronage Politics and “Survival of the Fattest” (Pgs. 44-46) (Which is basically bribing your way to influence instead of offering people the services they actually need. Collier also notes: “Voting in blocs at the behest of such leaders is most likely where voter loyalty to ethnic communities is strong and where the objective information available to the typical voter is weak.”)
I just find it fascinating that I’ve got to worry about similar political problems as some of the poorest nations on the planet.
