The strange allure of the slums »
Posted by: _kam0_ 1 year, 3 months agoWhy people prefer urban squalor to rural hopelessness
Read Full Story at economist.com
Join the Discussion 
+ Add Comment
Comments So Far: 62
-
-
100%
Teech1 year, 3 months ago
A quote from the article....: "The real reason is that lots of people make lots of money from the slums, providing the services the state does not provide and extracting the bribes that anyone living in an illegal city has to pay just to survive. Moreover, the slums provide the cheap labour that enables the city to operate. The status quo suits the authorities quite nicely." Hmmmmm....just like in America and every other country in the world.
Reply
-
-
50%
joeblowe1 year, 3 months ago
I is clear to me that each household in Africa needs to be provided with free satellite TV. And, of course, the electricity to run it. If they would spend some time watching the tube, they would: 1) Get SOME education - if only from watching commercials 2) get diverted from procreating so proficiently 3) POSSIBLY gain some sense of civilization and culture. A growing population in an area that is already so destitute is foolish beyond a normal person's grasp. And of course the rampant corruption doesn't much help the common person either. (Same as here, I guess) If the wealth that is generated in Africa were distributed even SOMEWHAT evenly across the population, their poverty level would drop dramatically.
Reply-
77%
Changingconstant1 year, 3 months ago
Learning from television is not such a good idea. Our system of governemnt is just as corrupted as theirs it just has more money and better suits.
They have a sense of civilization and culture it's just not widely known because of a lack of interest.
Trying to force beliefs and values upon them is not the answer. Especially those broadcast via satellite. (and why commercials they have no money to spend)
Education only helps if the knowledge can be applied. Those living in slums have few avenues to make changes. Organization is probably their best hope-but often people fear or reject proposed changes. The known is often more comforting than the unknown despite being "for the better".
Reply-
20%
joeblowe1 year, 3 months ago
The commercials are the shock troops of capitalism. If they can watch the commercials, they will desire the goods. If they desire the goods, perhaps they will work to get them. If they have NO goals, NO ambitions, NO desires - what compels them to try to better themselves? Africa has a great deal of wealth just laying around. If the "common" people really, really wanted something - MAYBE they could effect some change in their totally corrupt governments and bring Africa into -- well maybe the 20th century anyway. Considering that there have been humans in Africa longer than anywhere else, why is it that the continent is still a 3rd world place - for the most part?
Reply
-
-
100%
rewqers1 year, 3 months ago
If its stiff it aint got no conscience.as if it had one to begin with.Bring africa over to america if you wanna help the needy.Its first class irony isnt it."I dont wanna work, i wanna lay and procreate all day".I got culture i just cant afford condoms.i listen to todd all day long.
Reply
-
-
0%
Wizardcotx1 year, 3 months ago
The thing is "WHO CARES" That part of the world has been one gigantic slum for centuries.. Mud hut villages, Tribal Warfare, Disease, Hunger, the only difference is now they can get more publicity... I am sure the UN will try to get the USA to give them a few billion dollars to waste on the "problem" People will live as they want to live. and in africia, that seems to be at the bottom of the heap.
Reply-
82%
slate1 year, 3 months ago
Wizardcotx
I hope this is just one of the many made up profiles some use to provoke. ESPECIALLY with it ending in Tx.
Ever heard of the word compassion? What would Jesus do? Psst just in case you didn't know Jesus was a man of 'color' you may want to lay off the skin color phobia. Each and every Human on the planet has African roots.
Reply-
79%
saintetienne1 year, 3 months ago
slate,
Great. If you're so compassionate, open up YOUR wallet. Empty YOUR money into Africa. And don't just stop there. I want you to put down your fork and send all YOUR food to Africa. Clean out your pantry and your cupboards....send ALL of YOUR food to Africa. Then, when you earn more money, I want you to send it to Africa. Then send them some more. Then keep sending ALL your money to Africa, until you end up in the slums, just like them. It won't change their situation. There will always be millions and millions of people with their hands out, wanting YOUR food and YOUR money.
Will that make you happy? Will living in the gutter and giving away everything you own and have worked for resolve the situation?
No, of course not.
joeblowe has it right. Unless people have a desire to work toward something and a desire to improve their own situation, they'll always have their hand out. Why should poverty and lack of action be rewarded?
Reply
-
-
-
-
0%
slate1 year, 3 months ago
That is the rub, how do you actually get the money where it needs to go? With any government,,,, there are the mutiheaded hydras that take bites out of the funds on most projects along the way. Heck we can't even put forth a simple bill in our own gov without the pork being added to a bill that has nothing to do with it.
Reply
-
-
0%
NormalHeightsSteve1 year, 3 months ago
This kind of makes my complaints about pot holed streets seem trivial.
Reply -
0%
Obaku1 year, 3 months ago
And it is likely that from one of these slums the next pandemic will arise.
Just waiting for some haemorraghic fever virus to find a way to use a biting insect as a vector..
Reply-
0%
slate1 year, 3 months ago
Oh My I hope that doesn't happen,,,, other than throwing money at the problem, which won't get to the source of the problem, what can we do? Mankind needs to stop and look around and try to elevate the planet as a whole. Only when we can learn to get along and stop the wars and political battles will things get better.
Reply-
67%
saintetienne1 year, 3 months ago
No slate, mankind needs to stop, look around and begin to take personal responsibility.
It's not up to "us" to save "mankind". It is up to each individual. If an individual wants to better him or herself, they will, and they will find a way - - monetary aid or no aid. If they want to remain in poverty and take no responsibility for themselves, they will - - even if all the money in the world is thrown at them.
Reply
-
-
-
0%
BEEHOF1 year, 3 months ago
The Economist magazine does an excellent job of unbiased reporting on issues that rarely appear in American publications, or, if they do, never achieve such depth of detail. The complexity of the issue of city slums - tolerant, powerless poor; indifferent or greedy politicians and business men; the need for cheap labor; the tragic hopelessness in rural areas which drive the poor into the cities; the well-meaning but ineffectual aid groups; and the sheer massiveness of the problem means there is almost no way to make it better. Top to bottom, no one wants to risk changing the status quo.
Reply-
-
67%
rewqers1 year, 3 months ago
Its the strange allure of our slums and high tech approach to fecal matter as a renewable source of capital gain.i want to live like the jones' next door.Well if you compare apples to oranges it doesnt matter how you grow them.Or does it?Choose life,it doesnt have to be pretty to love thy neighbor.
Reply
-
-
0%
slate1 year, 3 months ago
Easy now
I never said anything like what you imply, the need to help others is a good human condition,,,, but help with assurance that the help gets where it needs to go, to help elevate those that need it to help themselves and be self reliant.
Reply -
14%
JamalWindfall1 year, 3 months ago
The title is the only part of this article that is readable. It offers up plenty of useless statistics and underlying objurgation but never really delivers on the promise to meet head on with the intriguing subject matter. In the end I was left with yet another 3rd grade piece of dribble - well this is mainstream news what in the hell did I expect.
Don't forget, go get my CD from iTunes or your favorite digital media outlet. You can buy the physical copy @ www.cdbaby.com
Its the music of consciousness but at the same time I will knock you out violently - on one hand I'm a scholar, but very quickly I get like Beast in X men 3, Kelsey Grammer was an alcoholic for many years, my point is the elite forces that are molding every aspect of our lives are very prepared for the base level flash mobs and other civil disorder. They are not and cannot ever be prepared for a total shift of public consciousness an awakening.
Cop my CD...matter fact buy 10 copies 4 real son
Windfall
Reply -
0%
slate1 year, 3 months ago
What many that live in the US forget is that how fortunate they are to have been born here instead of some third or fourth world country. We get despondent when gas goes to $3 PG. We freak when the stock market falls a few points. We have it pretty good here for the most part and have the ability help others. This means helping not only by just throwing money at the problem but trying to help with solutions to build economic wealth in other places. The Chinese proverb about fishing comes to mind.
The planet is vast yet small, as someone said here; a Pandemic could be a possible threat from the squalor. If nothing more, thank your lucky stars if you are on this site and live in one of the better countries on the planet. Remember you were born there more out of chance than having some sort of 'right' to so deserve.
I think All nations should chip in and help with this cause though not just the US, this is the worlds problem as a whole.
Reply -
0%
river-rat1 year, 3 months ago
This is just so sad. These people need help. They are just trying to band togeather in the slums for support. If you have never gone without, and most Americans haen't no matter what they think, you don't know how alone you can feel, hungry cold nd alone. Birth control pills are not the answer any more than some free food. They need to be taught how to support themselves and how to raise theri own food etc. We are so lucky because it is a given that we at least have a chance to get something in this country. Try to see what they are living.
Reply-
100%
Tigra1 year, 3 months ago
I agree River:some of you dont realize that there are MANY layers to most continents are made up of POOR nations.Their government oppresses them, and as the article stated, "The real reason is that lots of people make lots of money from the slums, providing the services the state does not provide and extracting the bribes that anyone living in an illegal city has to pay just to survive. " The good old saying holds true for most of the world's crisis"money is the root of all evil".
These people WANT to work, this is why they build shantytowns to stay in the city where they could possibly find work. Handouts are okay in moderation, but teaching the civilians of poor nations to sustain themselves and be self sufficient goes a long way. Charity is a good thing. Some of you are too wrapped up in your delusional lives to care for anyone else but self.
Reply
-
-
0%
0gramstransfat1 year, 3 months ago
i wonder how many of the corrupt governments in the African continent were put in place or supported by the American government? America has a long history of silently supporting corrupt governments that will allow American interests and corporations into these countries to plunder the natural resources there, leaving the citizens of the countries in the dust. And no, I'm not saying ALL of the African countries that have an overwhelming amount of poor and/or diseased citizens are the result of American foreign policy... just most of them. :-) I wonder when the last time a big American oil company that draws oil from these countries spent some of their billions of dollars in profits on programs for citizens of the country to educate and better themselves?
Reply-
-
100%
kobzikov1 year, 3 months ago
I love the two wrongs make a right argument.
Do you know that other countries also had slavery, genocide, and imperialist colonization in the last 200 years too? That means that US should totally engage in those as well.
After all who needs a brain when without it you can just mimic what others are doing. That way you don't have to think at all.
Reply
-
-
-
-
0%
wildman65571 year, 3 months ago
Having spent a lot of time in the Third World, I think I can answer your question. What you are missing is hope and another thing is freedom. The Third World country side is ruled by little Stalins. They have their exploitable labor and they are going to exploit it to the max. If you don't go along: bang, bang you are dead and the rich own the law enforcement.
In the cities, the rich still exploit the poor but there are so many people that they can't control the poor. So you have a chance to start a business or to organize politically or even to change jobs. This freedom is very heady and very desirable.
Reply
-
-
100%
jonmaverick1 year, 3 months ago
Wikipedia says that Kibera, one of the slums mentioned, has about a million people living there. It is the home of approximately one-fifth of Africa's HIV-positive population. That's 0.2 times 2,200,000... hmmm... that's 440,000. That's nearly half the 'city' infected. While at first glance, this may seem like the ideal place for a tactical nuke, it's much more likely that somebody will put in a phone line nearby, and hire every last one of them to do technical support for your satellite tv.
Reply -
0%
Bpicone1 year, 3 months ago
I just want to point out that poverty is not a simple problem... certainly there poor people who are lazy... but that is not why much of an entire continent is in poverty. I mean I can't say so for sure, I'm just saying that I think some people on here (including myself) really need to look into this more without making hasty conclusions.
Reply -
-
83%
jonmaverick1 year, 3 months ago
There are destitute and homeless in practically every city in America. But this article refers to an area the size of Central Park with a million people living in it. Kenosha is forty times that size, and is home to less than one-hundred thousand people. Also Kenosha, I believe, has plumbing.
Reply
-
-
83%
river-rat1 year, 3 months ago
If we look around I think we have all seen slums but I don't think we have seen slums like they have in Africa. Even in Mexico or Apilacia I have seen terrible poverty but not like in Africa. We all need to have a little compasion for those who are less fortunate than we are. If you are Christian, the Bible tells us the poor will always be with us and that we must have compasion and take care of those less fortunate. Most religions of the world address this issue. So where is our compassion and our caring? When I was young I worked in programs to assist those who are less fortunate. In fact I devoted my working years to work that helped people in distress. No one person can take care of every one but each individual whom you help is one less in need. If we all were willing to help support just one unfortunate person our world would be a better place for everyone. By the way I am not very religious, I just care for my fellow travelers no matter what color or creed they follow.
Reply -
0%
wildman65571 year, 3 months ago
There is NO place in America that is anywhere near Africa. The poverty in the Third World is staggering.
Reply -
100%
evelyna1 year, 3 months ago
In America the ghettoites entertain themselves by shooting their friends and neighbors.
They must not be as hostile or do not have guns in Africa.
It is like any where else people wait for things to happen.
Reply -
100%
MikeReardon1 year, 3 months ago
Western capitalists and Japan and Korea have traded or are trading their manufacturing and productive services to lower wage nations mostly socialist Asian nations for cheap products and services. That process is economically freeing hundreds of millions rural and urban poor in those greater Asian nations - India and China and the rest of Southeast Asia. Africa has mineral resources that this expanding Asian markets will need to continue this expansion. The hope would be that the money for those commodities extracted from Africa will lift a middle class in the center of many of these cities. Someone will need to fill this expansion of 2 trillion Asians.
Reply -
100%
slate1 year, 3 months ago
So true about not really having a say so in money spent around the world.
So much is wasted on many pet projects for those in congress simply to garner votes
We come to the aid of peoples around the world when there is a natural disaster no matter where or if that country is our ally or not
We spend money in our interests for political reasons as well, often sited for reasons of human compassion. Some would say that Bosnia and Iraq are but two examples.
In the end like everything else, it's the perception of whether the cause is deemed just by individuals when they make a stand for or against such aid.
Yes we spend much money and some of it is squandered on causes that many feel are unworthy. I hope the reasons for dissent here come not from the mere fact of where the geologic region is that needs help. Human suffering has no region, race, creed or religion, only when we see the planet as all humans, deserving of compassion will there ever be hope.
Reply -
91%
hoppy1 year, 3 months ago
Parts of Africa are rich in oil deposits. The profits never go to the starving and homeless. It goes to corrupt officials in government. Too bad others have to starve for greed and crime.
Reply
Submitted By:
_kam0_
Also submitted:
- 1.0 - Bank of China flees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
- 1.0 - UK Chancellor says economy is at a 60-year low and will get worse
- 1.0 - Will India Be Tortoise to China's Hare?
- 1.0 - Eyes Off the Price
Related Articles:
Why not submit a story?
Also Propping This Article
Fabienne
WaywardWaif
pawfoots
agentX- Helixbuilder
- haroldandfuzzy
ciera-marie
berkeley- Wizardcotx
Gabe_Damage
Groups Watching This
No groups are watching this story. Why not share it with your group?
