Why Is Haiti So Poor?
Jan 18th, 2010 | 4 responses
Sometimes I really envy our elite class, because it’s so easy for them to answer questions like this. All they have to do is pull out a slip of paper from their bag of self-serving bromides.
One such is David Rothkopf at Foreign Policy, and Jonathan Schwarz makes short work of him:
This is from the high school history textbook The American Adventure, quoted in Lies My Teacher Told Me:
During Reconstruction many people tried hard to help the black people of the South. Then, for years, most white Americans paid little attention to the blacks. Little by little, however, there grew a new concern for them.
Here’s David Rothkopf, writing in Foreign Policy:
In all its benighted history, perhaps Haiti’s greatest moment of hope since its independence came just a decade and a half ago. Back then, America finally took interest in its near neighbor…But over time…the United States lost the political will to assist the struggling country. Good intentions and a pregnant moment were overtaken by events …
If you can believe it, the rest of Rothkopf’s post is even more grotesque. If I were a 1953 Soviet apparatchik looking for people to write a encyclopedia he’s just the kind of historian I’d hire.
In a postscript, Schwarz also links to David Brooks’s answer to why Haiti is so poor: Haitian culture is progress-resistant.
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4 Responses to “Why Is Haiti So Poor?”
I am no expert on the history of Haiti but I’ve gleaned a few bits of information over the last few days. Perhaps others with more knowledge could correct my comments if I say something incorrect. Also I will apologize in advance if this material has been covered already in another blog or comment that I have not yet read.
St. Dominique as the French called Haiti was once called the “Pearl of the Antilles”,
and was considered by many, as France’s most important colony. Haiti produced coffee, cotton, sugar, rum and coffee. In short a prosperous country.
Haiti was the first successful slave rebellion. The rebellion lasted for thirteen years, 1791-1803. It was probably the only war on record where the losers wrote the History. The French historians were the ones who inferred that the defeat was the result of a pact with the devil and now that assessment is considered controversial among some historians.
In 1838 the French finally recognized the independence of Haiti in return the Haitians agreeing to pay the French 150 million francs. The first problem was the Haitian government did not have 150 million francs and had to borrow a large sum in order to pay the French.
Following the revolution Haiti was ignored and even shunned by most of the slave owning countries including the United States. These countries were afraid a successful Haiti would inspire revolts in their own territories. Before we blame the poor people of Haiti maybe we should look at our own countries involvement or lack there of in accessing blame.
I’ve left out a lot of pleasant incidents in this time line. Such as: Civil war and war with its neighbor. In my opinion is Haiti never had a chance economically to regain its former prosperity and it has been a downhill slide ever since.
Most of this information I got from the website travelinghaiti.com.
Do I have to post this again? Better late than never, Kathy.
Haiti's problems, and how it is inferior in development and achievement compared even to the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with it, have long been studied.
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2007/wp0…
Lawrence E. Harrison (who I wrote may be considered a cultural determinist) has written numerous books on the subject of culture and how some groups and nations do better than others, and why.
(Don't rush to equivocate when you see Harrison's use of “liberal” here and think of the USA, Kathy.)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/ar…
(The first two books are among those of his that I own, and bought several years ago, in the 1990s.)
http://www.amazon.com/Underdevelopment-State-Mi…
http://www.amazon.com/Who-Prospers-Cultural-Eco…
http://www.amazon.com/Culture-Matters-Values-Sh…
http://www.amazon.com/Central-Liberal-Truth-Pol…
The typical Beltway-type clucking hens like Brooks are also tardy, but better late than never… [scowl]
Reactions to Brooks are a varied lot, but some criticism itself is of value.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/15/opinion/15bro…
http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/01/15/…
In 1838 the French finally recognized the independence of Haiti in return the Haitians agreeing to pay the French 150 million francs. The first problem was the Haitian government did not have 150 million francs and had to borrow a large sum in order to pay the French.
I actually just got done watching Rachel Maddow interview the executive director of an organization that works to get debt forgiveness for poor nations. She was interviewing him, of course, in the context of the effect Haiti's debt has had on its development, and they covered that historical debt to France, basically to compensate them for the loss of their slave labor. As you mentioned, Haiti agreed to take on that debt in 1838, but do you know when they finished paying it off? 1947. It took them over a century to pay it off, and during that time they incurred more debt of course to be able to handle the original debt, and in addition to that, they were ruled for most of that time by a series of corrupt leaders who shamelessly stole from the Haitian people to enrich themselves.
And people wonder why Haiti is so poor.
Recent research shows the importance of cognitive ability to macroeconomic outcomes.
Populations show different average levels, which robustly predict economic performance.
'The impact of smart fractions, cognitive ability of politicians and average competence of peoples on social development' Rindermann et al Talent Development & Excellence
Vol. 1, No. 1, 2009, 3-25
http://iratde.org/issues/1-2009/tde_issue_1-200…