Customer Reviews

Evil and world order (World perspectives ; v. 49)

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It is a shame that this book is now out of print. It should be required reading for all public policy majors, political science buffs and anyone working in foreign policy.

Thompson paints a rather frightening picture of misguided attempts to alleviate suffering in the world. Most of us feel compelled to either initiate or join up with efforts to end global poverty, to feed the starving and educate the illiterate citizens of the global community. However, many programs designed to help often end up hurting. For example, feeding starving children in a country unable to support its population may lead to additional suffering when these children reach sexual maturity and then bear still more offspring. What Thompson does in this enlightening volume is point out the irony of causing suffering by trying to allieviate it. He goes on to say that, of course, we must feed starving people because it is our nature to do so, but why not allow foreign policy to look at the big picture. If a country cannot sustain its population, the population must be controlled; all the food in the world sent to a starving nation will do no good in the long run unless the reasons for the dire situation are addressed and remedied.

This book had a significant impact on me when I read it over 15 years ago. Its message has not dimmed through the years and, if anything, is even more timely now that India's population has topped 1 billion.