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View Full Version : Bono: Evolving view on Capitalism?




V3n
10-26-2012, 06:23 AM
from Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/parmyolson/2012/10/22/bonos-humbling-realizations-about-aid-capitalism-and-nerds/


Bono has learned much about music over more than three decades with U2. But alongside that has been a lifelong lesson in campaigning — the activist for poverty reduction in Africa spoke frankly on Friday about how his views about philanthropy had now stretched to include an appreciation for capitalism.

The Irish singer and co-founder of ONE, a campaigning group that fights poverty and disease in Africa, said it had been “a humbling thing for me” to realize the importance of capitalism and entrepreneurialism in philanthropy, particularly as someone who “got into this as a righteous anger activist with all the cliches.”

“Job creators and innovators are just the key, and aid is just a bridge,” he told an audience of 200 leading technology entrepreneurs and investors at the F.ounders tech conference in Dublin. “We see it as startup money, investment in new countries. A humbling thing was to learn the role of commerce.”

Maybe the guy is coming around? :)

CaptUSA
10-26-2012, 06:54 AM
Sounds like he's getting closer... This is a good thing. Usually, once people like this goes out on a limb, it's very hard to get them to come back. Their minds become too ingrained in their false beliefs that anything opposing them is immediately discarded.

I understand completely what he means by a "humbling" experience. You have to admit that you were wrong, or at least your preconceptions didn't always make sense, in order to fully open your mind to the truth. This is not an easy thing to do - especially when you have built a career out on that limb.

Seraphim
10-26-2012, 07:15 AM
The revolution of the 21st century is that of Intellect and more importantly, how to adequately (and morally) apply it to the real world.

A global mass enlightenment, if you will.

It's happening already. One soul at a time.

Freedom. The Soverign Human. Voluntary transaction/association. Freed markets/labor.

belian78
10-26-2012, 07:20 AM
The guy that goes around the world trying to guilt people into accepting higher taxes to pay for foreign aid, then moves his bands interests to the lowest taxed country? That guy coming around? LOL no, he's just a raging hypocrite.

Seraphim
10-26-2012, 07:24 AM
The vast majority of people are rife with hypocracy. Reducing ones ignorance and hypocracy, bit by bit, should not be scoffed at.


The guy that goes around the world trying to guilt people into accepting higher taxes to pay for foreign aid, then moves his bands interests to the lowest taxed country? That guy coming around? LOL no, he's just a raging hypocrite.

CaptUSA
10-26-2012, 07:48 AM
The revolution of the 21st century is that of Intellect and more importantly, how to adequately (and morally) apply it to the real world.

A global mass enlightenment, if you will.

It's happening already. One soul at a time.

Freedom. The Soverign Human. Voluntary transaction/association. Freed markets/labor.Hmmm... that sounds familiar. I feel like we already did this once before.

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NCGOPer_for_Paul
10-26-2012, 07:50 AM
Maybe those meetings with Jesse Helms way back when actually had an influence on BOTH men for the better.

V3n
10-26-2012, 07:58 AM
I'll admit he did some questionable pleading with our Government in the past for taxes, I'm a fan of his, so I always put it up to "he's not from here, doesn't live under our Constitution, so he doesn't know any better". But he admitted that himself:


"as someone who “got into this as a righteous anger activist with all the cliches.”

The 'tax avoiding' thing, I don't blame at all - we should all be so lucky!

But these are things he's done in the past - and this statement is the most recent - I'd prefer to weigh his actions from here on out, rather than things he's done before - if he really believes the things he said here.

Like Oprah says - "When you know better, you do better."

Seraphim
10-26-2012, 08:00 AM
In the USA. Not around the world.

Liberty and its understanding have come in pockets, here and there. What we are witnessing, live and in real time, is the dissimination of information around the world like never before seen.

Don't get me wrong; things will get worse before they improve, but from the ashes, the Phoenix will rise.


Hmmm... that sounds familiar. I feel like we already did this once before.

<--------

TonySutton
10-26-2012, 08:15 AM
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day,
Hire a man to work a job and you feed him for a lifetime.

Edit: I though about this more after actually reading the article. Bono said “Job creators and innovators are just the key, and aid is just a bridge,” This reminded me of our current political situation. It seems to really fit right into the middle of some of the discussions that are going on regarding how to deal with unemployment and getting people back to work. Maybe people can use Bono's words to enlighten some on the left to the importance of allowing the greedy rich people/corporations to keep some money so they can hire new employees.

coastie
10-26-2012, 08:37 AM
Good for him....I still think his band sucks though, always have.

jmdrake
10-26-2012, 08:46 AM
from Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/parmyolson/2012/10/22/bonos-humbling-realizations-about-aid-capitalism-and-nerds/


Maybe the guy is coming around? :)

Thanks for posting. I found this interesting.

“Job creators and innovators are just the key, and aid is just a bridge,” he told an audience of 200 leading technology entrepreneurs and investors at the F.ounders tech conference in Dublin. “We see it as startup money, investment in new countries. A humbling thing was to learn the role of commerce.”

Here's the problem though. Aid is not "startup money". Aid is bribery and/or welfare. Startup money comes from individual investors, not governments. If Bono wants to really help he should get into microfinance.

Edit: And if you want to help Bono learn about microfinance, help lead the way with Kiva team Ron Paul.

http://www.kiva.org/team/team_ron_paul

Athan
10-26-2012, 08:47 AM
from Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/parmyolson/2012/10/22/bonos-humbling-realizations-about-aid-capitalism-and-nerds/



Maybe the guy is coming around? :)

He's coming around unless he goes full blown keynsianism. Then he will have gone from dumb, passed elightenment, and gone back to dumber.

angelatc
10-26-2012, 09:29 AM
He's coming around unless he goes full blown keynsianism. Then he will have gone from dumb, passed enlightenment, and gone back to dumber.

I'm not going to spend a lot of time hoping for a libertarian conversion, that's for sure. He has always had an air of considering himself to be the smartest guy in the room, which is a Keynesian signature.

But as others have pointed out, I do give him credit for allowing his views to evolve. That's not possible for people who believe they already know absolutely everything.

Bastiat's The Law
10-26-2012, 09:44 AM
Thanks for posting. I found this interesting.

“Job creators and innovators are just the key, and aid is just a bridge,” he told an audience of 200 leading technology entrepreneurs and investors at the F.ounders tech conference in Dublin. “We see it as startup money, investment in new countries. A humbling thing was to learn the role of commerce.”

Here's the problem though. Aid is not "startup money". Aid is bribery and/or welfare. Startup money comes from individual investors, not governments. If Bono wants to really help he should get into microfinance.

Edit: And if you want to help Bono learn about microfinance, help lead the way with Kiva team Ron Paul.

http://www.kiva.org/team/team_ron_paul
That sort of sounds like what he's getting at. I have no problem with him using his time to garner support for independent capital investment in places. I think it would actually work resoundingly well as long as the country has the rule of law and a stable transfer of power.

V3n
10-26-2012, 10:51 AM
More from the conference.
http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/19/3525636/bono-social-movement-change


Further examples thrown up by Bono include websites like ipaidabribe.com, which documents instances where people were forced to pay a bribe to get something done. It's a way to expose and shame corruption, which to Bono is "the biggest disease of them all." Corruption, he argues, "kills more kids than tuberculosis, malaria and all the other diseases," and what his organization and others are doing is "working on transparency as a sort of vaccine" against it.

'Transparency as a vaccination against Corruption' is another statement I can get behind!

The rest of this article is interesting, talks about the power of the masses over the leaders using technology to narrow the gap.

It also mentions a lawmaker from Iowa who changed his position based on the public outpour. I'm all for our Congressmen actually representing the will of their people, but if it was an unconstitutional bill that just distributes our money to his charities (which I'm guessing it was) that makes me still a bit skeptical.. I don't have any information on the lawmaker or the bill.

paulbot24
10-26-2012, 11:08 AM
The vast majority of people are rife with hypocracy. Reducing ones ignorance and hypocracy, bit by bit, should not be scoffed at.

You didn't include yourself in that statement you hypocrite! :D j/k Seraphim. Hopefully my morning caffeine will kick in here in a minute and I'll go back to my usual grim self.

WhistlinDave
07-21-2013, 01:33 PM
I almost started a new thread but since this one is already here, just wanted to share this article somebody posted on FB today. Looks like a good one to share with all the socialist friends. "Bono: Only Capitalism Can End Poverty."

http://www.inquisitr.com/428836/bono-only-capitalism-can-end-poverty-video/

Cutlerzzz
07-21-2013, 01:59 PM
Discovering that he was the crap probably helped give him an open mind.

Henry Rogue
07-21-2013, 02:29 PM
Bono must have realized, in the course of making a profit, his actions benefited others.

anaconda
07-21-2013, 04:26 PM
I still think his band sucks though, always have.

Incredible.