My take on this is: if rich OECD countries would really care about development, they’d create a level playing field for countries from the South inside the WTO framework.

If rich countries really cared about peace & justice they’d stop delivering weapons to certain regions of the world and they’d take a harder stance on some governments…

However, since I’m a citizen of a rich country (Switzerland is still among the very richest) it is also my responsibility to help create the conditions for development and justice by pressuring my own government and influencing my own social network!

I just saw the film Total Denial http://www.totaldenialfilm.com/about.php
which is about the US corporation UNOCAL funding the Burma military so that they could get a pipeline built, and the atrocities which follow.

There must come a time when we let our profit take a hit in favour of humanity. I keep looking for signs of the gift economy, and ways to make it work. Let’s hope we can give some hope soon.

The people of the world don’t need charity, they need justice.