Live8, Africa, and The Root of The Problem

Do you find yourself vaguely admiring Live8 for its noble goals, yet wondering what the effort is all about and whether it will make any difference?

Niall Ferguson, a Harvard professor, has a piece in today's L.A. Times entitled Dickens Knew That Geldof Doesn't. I'm a huge Dickens fan and so Ferguson's headline caught my eye. Excerpt:

It may come as a surprise to Live 8 fans, but the top three reasons why most African countries are economic basket cases are not lack of aid, excessive debt service payments and protectionism by developed countries. The real culprits are chronic misgovernment, recurrent civil war and the high incidence of diseases such as malaria and AIDS.

It's a compelling piece. Read the whole thing.