15 March 2008
Microloans Synthesize Civil Society
In his Financial Page essay, “What Microloans Miss” (The New Yorker, March 17, 2008), James Surowiecki criticizes those who promote microcredit as a tool to foster macroeconomic development. Making that claim ignores something more important than the need for financial support to spawn small to medium sized enterprises. Microloans, in fact, provide individuals in developing countries the self-respect and independence that other social systems offer their members through the rule of law and respect for individual rights.
In an increasingly materialistic world, made more uniform through the interstitial invasion of Information Technology (movies, music, radio and TV, the Internet), ideas are not as effective as money for engendering personal autonomy. With the sense of accomplishment that economic success brings, members of developing societies can follow a path out of oppressive poverty to political liberty. Microfinance synthesizes the long philosophical process of developing a civil society, and may possibly accelerate the resulting transformation of the social system.
Microfinance is really a tremendously subversive tool for relieving developing countries from autocratic control. Perhaps it is more likely to be accepted by oppressive regimes if it is thought to be intended for economic growth, as directly ineffective as it may actually be.
In his Financial Page essay, “What Microloans Miss” (The New Yorker, March 17, 2008), James Surowiecki criticizes those who promote microcredit as a tool to foster macroeconomic development. Making that claim ignores something more important than the need for financial support to spawn small to medium sized enterprises. Microloans, in fact, provide individuals in developing countries the self-respect and independence that other social systems offer their members through the rule of law and respect for individual rights.
In an increasingly materialistic world, made more uniform through the interstitial invasion of Information Technology (movies, music, radio and TV, the Internet), ideas are not as effective as money for engendering personal autonomy. With the sense of accomplishment that economic success brings, members of developing societies can follow a path out of oppressive poverty to political liberty. Microfinance synthesizes the long philosophical process of developing a civil society, and may possibly accelerate the resulting transformation of the social system.
Microfinance is really a tremendously subversive tool for relieving developing countries from autocratic control. Perhaps it is more likely to be accepted by oppressive regimes if it is thought to be intended for economic growth, as directly ineffective as it may actually be.
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