Concentration of resources

17. Economic disparities within the mis-developing countries are greater than those that exist in developed countries, or even between the countries themselves. Wealth and power are highly concentrated in a restricted but complex section of society that is in contact with the international arena and is able to control the State apparatus, which is itself full of shortcomings. This holds up all chance ofimprovement, and even causes economic and social decline. Differences in living standards not only give rise to conflict which can lead to a spiral of violence, but these differences further encourage patronage as the only means of achieving personal self-fulfilment. As a result, all purely economic initiatives are paralysed, while the altruism that exists in all traditional societies is seriously jeopardised. In such situations, the State often has a major part to play, enabling it to encourage the export sector—which is good in itself—but leaving little profit for the local people as a whole.

In other cases, as a result of weakness or political ambition, the authorities set agricultural commodity prices at such low levels that the small farmers actually subsidise the town-dwellers, which encourages rural exodus. The mass media, electronics and advertising also contribute to the population drain from the countryside. Development aid to such countries then becomes a more or less indirect source of encouragement to the governments that pursue these dangerous policies, benefiting as they do from this financial support which is totally illegitimate, because these are policies that fly in the face of the real interests of their people. The industrial countries should ask themselves whether they may unfortunately have been sending out negative signals in this regard over so many years.