Zambian economist Dambisa Moyo writes in “Dead Aid” that the money spent on foreign aid to Africa has created a dependency mindset that has hobbled the continent’s ability to become a productive part of the developed world. This is a provocative argument (to say the least) that the former Goldman Sachs and World Bank executive puts forth, i.e., that the more than trillion dollars that the U.S. and other nations have channeled to Africa over the last half century may be doing more harm than good. In essence, Moyo believes that the world’s response to photos of starving babies has unintentionally created a perpetual welfare state. She allows that such governmental foreign aid is to be differentiated from emergency humanitarian aid as well as the work and contributions of NGO’s that deliver resources directly to the needy. That said, Moyo believes that foreign aid should be shut off within the next decade – presumably to allow Africa’s governments to bootstrap themselves to financial self-sufficiency through trade, foreign investment and bond issuance. In other words – stop feeling sorry for Africa and start doing business ala China and India. See Lisa Miller’s article in Newsweek, “Thanks, Bono, but No Thanks” for more background.

Dambisa Moyo interviewed by Charlie Rose on March 25