[Jacobin]
“Philanthrocapitalism is the latest “great white hope” of international development. Unlike traditional philanthropists, who were content to write checks for good causes, “philanthrocapitalists” like Bill Gates and George Soros have supposedly transformed development aid by infusing it with the business principles of innovation, efficiency, and enterprise.”
“Soros is notorious for making vast profits by precipitating the financial destruction of entire economies. In 1992, he forced the United Kingdom out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism and into recession by shorting sterling, making an estimated $1 billion in a single day. He has also been blamed for triggering the East Asian financial crisis in 1997 by short-selling the Thai baht and the Malay ringgit, and was accused of playing a role in speculative attacks on the yen in 2013.”
“But liberal elites around the world laud Soros for channelling large quantities of his dubiously earned wealth into philanthropic projects — primarily through his Open Society Foundation, which promotes democracy, free markets, and economic development around the world.”
“One of Soros’s most high-profile philanthropic activities has been his support for the Millennium Villages Project (MVP), headed by the celebrity development economist Jeffrey Sachs.”
“Last year I visited Bonsaaso, in central Ghana, to judge the success of the MVP for myself. Bonsaaso is not actually a village, but includes thirty villages spread over 350 square kilometers of land, with a combined population of over 30,000 people.”
“Unlike other Millennium Villages, which are located in regions in which agricultural production predominates, Bonsaaso is located in the middle of the Ashanti Gold Belt, and artisanal mining has been part of the regional economy for centuries.”
Read more: Counting on Billionaires
2021-week26
