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In The Name of Progress: The Underside Of Foreign Aid
Year Published: 1986Resource Type: Book Cx Number: CX3152 Abstract: In the late 1970s, Energy Probe activists were challenged on moral grounds by the advocates of nuclear power. What right, they asked has the West to refuse to develop nuclear power for itself, and for the Third World, if the world is facing a major energy crisis? Energy Probe investigated foreign aid, focusing on large energy projects which are often billed as the salvation of Third World countries. Patricia Adams, a former advisor to the World Council of Churches energy program, and Lawrence Solomon, author of a number of books on energy, found that foreign aid is often a barrier to Thirds World attempts to become self-sufficient. Using information supplied by governmental and non-governmental aid agencies, the authors look at the many common myths about foreign aid - such as the belief that it benefits both the donors and receivers. The authors reject technological fixes such as massive hydro-electric projects, nuclear power plants and rural electrification schemes because they don't benefit the people of the Third World, but rather private companies and authoritarian governments. They conclude with specific proposals for a review of foreign aid policies, to bring them in line with the International Bill of Human Rights, which has been ratified by most Western countires. Extensive notes and research sources are provided, as well as an index and glossary of organizations and development terms. Subject Headings |