Does international Aid have a long-term negative effect on poverty-stricken countries, if so, how does this affect those who live in poverty and aim to grow their economies? America exporting rice to Haiti is an example of International Aid having a detrimental effect on the economy of Haiti in the long term. The local farmers of Haiti were forced to decrease their rice prices as the supply outweighed the demand. This harmed the farming industry in Haiti, as rice production was the farmer’s main source of income. Whilst a cheaper product was provided to the Haitian people to purchase, the offer was to assist humanitarian aid to the country of Haiti. The long-term effect on the economy and housing in Haiti is devastating with evidence of this from the documentary, Poverty Inc. Pope Francis states ‘Just as the commandment 'Thou shalt not kill' sets a clear limit in order to safeguard the value of human life, today we also have to say 'thou shalt not' to an economy of exclusion and inequality. Such an economy kills’ (Pope Francis, 2013). The Pope’s quote gives humans an insight into the treatment and exclusion of poor people especially those living in Haiti. Both the Catholic and Secular approaches to International Aid are foreseen as both negatives and positives. The Catholic approach allows humans to live a life like Jesus did whereas both Utilitarianism and Kant and Categorical Imperatives, allow humans to follow Jesus’ commands, but with more consequences and disadvantages.
For hundreds of years, Catholics have been inspired to assist others less fortunate than themselves and this can be seen through the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis’ quote, and Catholic organizations such as Caritas Australia. The concept of International Aid gives Catholics a sense of justice and meaning through helping, caring for the poverty-stricken, and following Jesus’ and his disciple’s teachings. 'The Church's love for the poor... is a part of her constant tradition.' (CCC, 1992, 2444) Jesus had numerous concerns for the poor with regard to how they were being treated and the conditions that they were forced to live with. Catholics can give love and assist the poor to live a better life and fulfill Jesus’ teachings ‘…All people are called to a life of being like God, of striving for goodness.’ (Connellan, 2019) In relation to the rice epidemic in Haiti, Catholics would have encouraged Haitians to support one another, within their community as well as accepting foreign aid suppliers from countries such as America. By promoting the Catholic ethos in the rice situation, Haitians can continue to support their local businesses and instead of importing rice, they can export it to other countries to help boost their countries economy. An example of a Catholic group supporting International Aid in not only Haiti but developing countries is Caritas Australia. Caritas teaches that every person is created in the image of God, thus having human dignity. “No human being should have their dignity or freedom comprised” (Caritas Australia, 2018). The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) is evidence that Catholic people are to give help to the poor. Under the Human Solidarity chapter, it states “Society ensures social justice by providing the conditions that allow associations and individuals to obtain their due” (CCC, 1992, 1943). To allow Haiti to rebuild its economy and poverty crisis, richer nations have to allow the developing country to do so. Instead of Americans exporting rice into Haiti, let the Haitians export rice into America so that they can grow steadily and become stronger economically as a country. Another teaching is that “The differences among persons belong to God's plan, who wills that we should need one another. These differences should encourage charity” (CCC, 1992, 1946). By encouraging Haiti to export localized rice and other material goods, God’s need for charity amongst humans will decrease with communities be able to help one another with minimal help from other nations. The Natural Law Theory showcases the morality of what is right and wrong and what is good and bad. Natural Law theorist Thomas Aquinas believes that the approach to resolving ‘…ethical dilemmas begins with the basic belief that everyone has the right to live their life.’ With the Natural Law theory, people can give the poor a right to live their lives and constantly support one another (McKenna, 2018). Pope John Paul ll commented, “We must be careful not to see the poor as victims only to be helped.” Poverty is not only about the lack of resources of one’s country, but more importantly the exclusion from exchange and efficiency” (Smith, Doyle, 2018). In Scripture, humans are reminded that God is indeed on the side of the poor. This is not because they are ‘better’, but because “…poverty is an affront to God’s design for us and he stands with and wants justice for those whom the world has discarded and diminished in such a way.” (Smith, Doyle, 2018) The exclusion and inequality of poverty and International Aid in Haiti and other developing countries can be seen through the words of Pope Francis’ quote “… ’ Thou shalt not’ to an economy of exclusion and inequality.” (Pope Francis, 2013) Catholics are reminded of the good and love to output into aid-dependent countries so that they can continue to follow Jesus’ teachings and fulfill a Catholic way of life.
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Utilitarianism is one of the numerous secular approaches which addresses the issue of poverty and International Aid in the world today which can be approached either positively or negatively depending on the situation at hand. Utilitarianism is one of the most influential theories and focuses on ‘…whether actions are morally right or wrong depends on their effect.’ (Nathanson, 2017) The only effect of the action taken is that there are good and bad outcomes that can influence a situation. Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) and John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) were both theorists of Utilitarianism and their theories have had huge impacts on approaches to political, economic, and social policy (Nathanson, 2017). Utilitarians believe that the purpose of morals and ethics is to make life seem better by increasing the number of good things in the world and decreasing the number of bad things. Peter Singer, a Utilitarian believes that each person “…should be taking one percent of their income and donating it to eradicating poverty and helping those in need.” (Ord, 2017) By acting on this, we will contribute to the decrease of aid dumping and get countries such as Haiti to become more economically independent. This also allows for government and businesses to not profit from aid. The view that humans have of one another when donating to others in poverty-stricken countries and helping support contentment and well-being within these countries is something that Utilitarians aim to promote. Utilitarians are all about contributions and donations to developing countries. Most of the time they cannot see the long-term effect that this can have on the country itself. Considering the main idea of Utilitarianism and the importation of rice into Haiti, the outcome of the good or the bad depends on the effect, foresees a long-term effect of Haiti being eradicated.
It affects farmers' produce and income and also their personal achievements. The rice fixture is not a long-term solution, therefore the Utilitarian approach to International Aid is not sustainable. Utilitarianism can also be both unpredictable and unmeasurable (GetRevising, 2014). Therefore, Utilitarianism cannot be a secular approach that we rely upon and can only be useful in some cases. Utilitarianism is one way in which humans can implement charity organizations by endlessly donating to poverty-stricken countries. Although Utilitarians do not purposely form “…an economy of exclusion and inequality.”, as Pope Francis states (Pope Francis, 2013) the well-being and caring of those in poor countries, create a sense of plateau for the poor, no creation of growth in the economy and a continuous feeling of exclusion from the world.
The Kant and Categorical Imperatives secular theory addresses International Aid and Poverty in a way that evaluates the long- and short-term effects of decisions that we as humans make. The Categorical Imperative was introduced by Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) who argued that the ultimate principle of morality was a standard of rationality (Augustyn, 2017). The Categorical Imperative was supposed to stipulate a way for humans to make moral and ethical judgments and evaluate moral actions (P, 2017). Formulation 2 of Kant’s theory is titled ‘The Formula of Humanity’ and explains that the act of “…humanity whether in your own person or in that of another, always as an end and never as a mere means.” (Crash Course, 2016) This formula showcases how to determine and differentiate between right and wrong; you have to use reason and have consideration for others. For Kantians, two main questions are asked before deciding to act upon a situation, these are “Can I rationally will that everyone act as I propose to act?” and “Does my action respect the goals of human beings rather than merely using them for my own purposes?” (CSUS, 2016) These questions allow Kantians to suggest issues and solutions for future intentions. In relation to the Haiti rice epidemic, a Kantian would ask these questions and figure out whether the effects of the situation are long or short-term. As shown in the second question, we can see that providing imports of rice from America will merely benefit the Americans, not the Haitian people. Haiti people want to be able to export rice to America, not impact the well-being of its countries on its people. Just as Pope Francis states, ‘…we also have to say 'thou shalt not' to an economy of exclusion and inequality. Such an economy kills,’ (Pope Francis, 2013) Kant and Categorical Imperatives and Utilitarianism share the importance of building strong economies in poverty-stricken countries.
International Aid in third-world countries has a major effect, not only on a country’s economy, but also on its growth, stimulation, and dignity of it too. The Haitian people are struggling to provide and sell rice to their communities and even export it out into the world due to an ongoing importation of rice from countries of high power. The Catholic, Utilitarianism Kant, and Categorical Imperatives all have similar ideas on how they approach International Aid, in particular, the Haiti rice epidemic. By approaching International Aid and Aid dumping in a situation such as the Haiti rice epidemic, humans can see how important it is to not exclude Haiti, but instead, let them grow economically independent by exporting products. By doing this, we will decrease the number of people living in poverty not only in Haiti but in other developing countries.
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