A friend pointed me to this piece in the WSJ. I don't usually read that rag - but this is kind of interesting. It is an excerpt from the upcoming Annual Letter of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Gates Letter in WSJ
Now I have friends who will positively NOT read or touch anything with Bill Gates' name on it, including any version of Windows OS. But this letter is interesting.
Bill and Melinda get around a lot more than I do. They are traveling the world, and they are trying to do something about poverty and all of that. If you have been reading along here, I have been pushing the idea that developing nations are somewhat held back by their prevailing world views. I would contend that this "world view" thing is why Europe and the US and mostly Northern countries are somewhat more advanced than those we call "developing".
Turns out, according to Mr. Gates, it may not matter much. It appears that things everywhere are definitely getting better. Of course, there are lots of people working on this - so hopefully we are making some progress. But Mr. Gates' hopes are much higher than mine. He predicts that by 2035, a mere 20 years, there may be NO poor countries left.
Well, I hope he's right. And I also hope I live to see it - that is just within the realm of possibility! One thing is for sure, as Howard Zinn was wont to say, things have sure been a lot worse in the past. We are making some headway here.
What think you?
