Adam Smith Institute

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This sounds like an excellent idea to us

The usual suspects are complaining and yet:

In a joint letter to the foreign secretary, the group criticises the rebranding of the UK’s development investment arm, which will see the Commonwealth Development Corporation (CDC) become British International Investment (BII) next year.

“This new strategy and name change appears to repurpose BII as an institution that focuses solely on private-sector investment and profit-making, rather than development goals and poverty reduction,” write the 12 organisations, including Global Justice Now, the Trades Union Congress (TUC), the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (Cafod) and Unison.

The last 40 years has seen the greatest reduction in human poverty in the entire history of our species. The cause has been the spread of capitalism and markets across the economies of the globe. Globalised neoliberalism that is. So, we wish to attack poverty - which we do - then we should have more of that. Up with this sort of thing say we.

We would agree with some of the critiques of that system, refute others and disagree with yet more. But we do insist that the one thing the system does, provably, is reduce human poverty. In a manner and with a level of effectiveness that no other system of socioeconomic organisation does achieve.

It’s possible to shorten the argument, Global Justice Now is against it so we’re for it.

Private-sector investment, the pursuit of profit, these are poverty reduction. Not just poverty reducing, they are the very process itself. More please.