Ending World Hunger

The standard economic model of how things work is that people produce and exchange goods. Governments exist to provide “government goods”— things that people cannot provide for themselves, such as national defense. Thus the standard economic view is that activities are essentially productive. While this view has made for a thriving profession of economics, it is not a correct view of reality. The principal difficulty is that there is economic activity that is unproductive and harmful (from the point of view of those being harmed), and that this is a key feature of the economic organization of societies. What follows is a brief analytical description of these societies. Many societies are run on this basic set of principals. Take and maintain control of the government. Use powers of the government to obtain income. Key elements of this process are described in four sections along with a Plan to End world Hunger: Obtaining Income The principal ways in which income is obtained in a harmful economic system are twofold: 1) obtain it through the government, or, 2) use the government to maintain, consolidate and increase sources of income that are (apparently) obtained in other ways. The first is most typical or at least most evident in developing countries. Armed conflict--typically the fight for control of the government or territory, frequently with natural resources, by groups deserves a separate discussion, because it has been throughout history the principal way in which harmful economic societies have been established and because of its importance in the world today. Preventing Revolution In essence, there is part of the population that is living well because of their control of assets and people. The people whose assets and income have been reallocated don’t like this and thus there is the threat of revolution— overturning the minority in benefit of the majority. This is prevented in a number of ways. A principal way— certainly a very clear way— of keeping people oppressed and unable to move to a situation that might be characterized as democratic, is terrorizing the subject population, including murder and torture. Especially important is killing leaders of the subject population(s) or otherwise keeping them from being a source of unrest (by such means as imprisonment, exile, or bribery). One favorite way of maintaining oppression is to stay in power for a long time, frequently by manipulating or subverting an ostensibly democratic legal framework. Election fraud/rigged elections are a principal way of staying in power. Sometimes legitimate regimes take power. The response of harmful economic regimes will be to try to maintain its sources of power, in preparation for a counter-revolution. Avoiding overthrow This is very similar to preventing revolution. However, what is emphasized in this section is preventing overthrow by others who would maintain a structure of harm. Impact on Development The impact on development of harmful economic systems has been enormous. Try to think about some of the consequences of what has been described above. They include war, continued devastation over centuries, and control of the government and productive resources, that have left hundreds of millions confronting starvation, while those who "govern" and "own" live very well. A recipe for disaster! And we should not blame the victims--poor people across the world. Rather we should think about how we can help them. War, basically caused by armed groups seeking to control the government, or territory or resources, has devastated vast regions of the world, and more importantly, vast numbers of the people of the world. Challenge of Ending Hunger Hunger can be ended: This waste of human lives is all the more tragic in that it can be ended. The world produces more than enough food for everyone and, if we act wisely, can continue to do so for future generations. The world community possesses the financial and technical resources necessary to end hunger. A human issue: Today, ending hunger is not primarily a technical or a production issue, it is a human issue. Hunger persists because we, as human beings, have failed to organize our societies in ways that assure every person the chance to live a healthy and productive life. Commitment to Hunger Project: This means we have to be committed to empowering people to create permanent, society-wide solutions to the problem, and not content ourselves with charitable actions that only benefit a few. We are committed to identifying and utilizing an accurate framework of thinking, and pioneering strategies and actions that will enable humanity to create a new future - a future free from hunger. Discovered in action: This evolve and are refined in the action itself, the formulation of our principles changes as our experience grows and in this way, there is no room for arrogance. On the contrary, the work of ending hunger is a rigorous teacher of a complex subject, constantly requiring a spirit of humility and openness to discovery. Vision: Given who we are as human beings, what is critical to our progress is vision - seeing a future that can be achieved and is worth achieving. The vision that calls forth The Hunger Project is a sustainable future for humanity, a future in which all people have the opportunity to live healthy and productive lives in harmony with nature. We call this "the end of hunger." Commitment: Commitment is what allows individuals to encounter obstacles, frustrations and failures on the pathway to achievement and still keep going. It is increasingly clear that achieving the future we envision will not just happen. It must be made to happen, and this will require extraordinary commitment. Calling forth that commitment, and keeping it focused and sustained to fulfill the vision, is a vital responsibility of The Hunger Project. Leadership: Leadership is critical to every great human achievement. Ending hunger requires committed leadership at all levels of society - from the village to the district, state, nation and the international community - that can call forth vision and commitment, and mobilize people to take effective action. Strategy and Action: Meeting a challenge as complex and daunting as hunger in a world of finite resources requires brilliant strategy and high-leverage action. It requires inquiry, analysis and allocation of resources consistent with achieving the goal. Every action must be designed to take a quantum leap forward towards the goal. There must also be extraordinary flexibility of action. One must move down a pathway with sufficient intentionality to make progress, yet be willing at every moment to let go of one approach to take a better pathway. Self-reliance: Conventional approaches have treated hungry people as the problem instead of the solution, as beneficiaries rather than the primary actors, working for their own self-reliance. All individuals have the right and the responsibility to be the authors of their own lives and their own development. The work of ending hunger must build from people's own creativity - their own skills, resources and decision making. Environment: People's ability to express their self-reliance is a function of the opportunities provided by the society. The work of ending hunger is therefore not feeding people. It is the work of creating an enabling environment in which people have the opportunity and empowerment they need to build lives of self-reliance. Global responsibility, partnership and investment: Hunger is a global issue. All of us have the responsibility to stand in partnership with hungry people, committed to their success. The achievement of this goal represents a new future, not only for those who are hungry but for all people. Realizing this new future for all humanity requires investment, not charity. Catalyzing that phenomenon: The phenomenon of strategy and action will not happen on its own. Individuals must take responsibility for making it happen. A movement, not an organization: For this reason, The Hunger Project can never be accurately thought of as merely an organization. It must be thought of as a movement, a campaign of individuals and organizations committed to taking strategic action to mobilize self-reliant development and transform the policy environment at every level so that people can succeed. Building upon the self-reliant efforts of hungry people: The campaign to end hunger must take action at every level of society - from the local level up to the national government, and to the level of the international community. Mobilize and empower committed indigenous leadership: The first step in our work is always to enlist the leadership of individuals of great commitment, complete integrity and the stature to access anyone in society necessary to ending hunger. Leadership for action in a village must come from that village; leadership for action in a nation must come from that nation. These individuals must become completely clear about and committed to utilizing the principles and methodology of The Hunger Project. Bring together all sectors of society: Ending hunger cannot be accomplished by government alone. We bring together leadership from all key sectors - business, academia, NGOs and government agencies - forming councils to create and lead our strategies in co-equal partnership. Build a shared understanding: For people to work together effectively, they must achieve a comprehensive shared understanding of the prevailing conditions, the effectiveness of existing programs and the priority areas where action is required. Bringing all the information together and making it clear, finite and confront able, has been one of the most empowering contributions of The Hunger Project since its inception. Commit to achieving a strategic intent: Individuals working with The Hunger Project must develop a powerfully articulated, unifying and achievable vision - a strategic intent - and clear strategic objectives appropriate to solving the problem, society-wide. We must never be content with helping a few, but rather commit ourselves to transforming conditions throughout society so that all people can build lives free from hunger. Commit to playing a strategic, catalytic role: Once people are committed to actually achieving the goal, they must then recognize the possibility of taking catalytic, high-leverage action that can affect the "big picture" - breaking bottlenecks to progress, improving existing programs, mobilizing and making better use of resources, effecting structural changes in society that can unleash the creativity and productivity of hungry people. Identify what's missing: Our work is always guided by the question, what’s missing? What, if provided, would allow for a breakthrough? This is very different, and far more powerful, than the more common questions, what’s wrong? Why isn't it working? These latter questions tend to call forth blame and paralysis, not action and cooperation. The Hunger Project respects the work of other organizations - by focusing on what's missing, we avoid duplicating work being done by others. Take immediate action to catalyze "what's missing" being provided. Take action first where it can succeed and produce near-term results. Create a momentum of accomplishment: One must constantly assess and sharpen the strategy. Each accomplishment gives a new landscape: new leadership, new obstacles, and new openings for catalytic action. Each failure can lead to a deeper understanding of the nature of the challenge. Creating and sustaining this campaign mentality and style of working is crucial to breaking the mind-set of resignation and unleashing the human spirit.