
The EU Is Keeping Poor Countries Poor - dustinmoris
https://fee.org/articles/the-eu-is-keeping-poor-countries-poor/
======
cribbles
This is a razor-thin editorial drawing a tenuous connection between arguments
against the EU's global agricultural trade policies to pro-Brexit
parochialism. The author is "a Research Executive at Get Britain Out." The
host publication receives hundreds of thousands of dollars of funding from the
Koch Brothers.[1] The first thing that loads before the article is a full-
screen modal advertising an Ayn Rand newsletter.

From the HN guidelines:

> Off-Topic: Most stories about politics, or crime, or sports, unless they're
> evidence of some interesting new phenomenon. Ideological or political battle
> or talking points. [2]

How do stories like this keep making it to the front page?

[1]
[https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Foundation_for_Economi...](https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Foundation_for_Economic_Education#Ties_to_the_Koch_Brothers)

[2]
[https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html](https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html)

~~~
nwellnhof
> How do stories like this keep making it to the front page?

In this case, it's probably because the decidedly pro-EU mainstream media
rarely publish EU-critical articles. It's sad that so many truths that are
fundamental to understand how the world works are only told by dubious
organizations to further an unrelated agenda.

~~~
JohnStrangeII
I have read dozens if not hundreds of EU-critical articles in the "mainstream
media" during the last few decades. Maybe you should just read more, if you're
missing EU critique. (Why people who already dislike the EU so badly want to
read more critique of it is another matter - maybe to feel better?)

~~~
nwellnhof
My point is that for every article that exposes EU protectionism, there are
ten articles praising the importance of so-called "free trade".

~~~
JohnStrangeII
And what's the problem with that? People are entitled to their opinions,
including journalists writing editorials.

Besides, the whole EU critique is such an old hat. In the 80s and 90s there
was overwhelming critique on the EU from the fringe left in many countries.
Now it's also coming more from fringe right-wing parties. Apart from that, not
much has changed. The same old story, using the EU as a scapegoat to get
voters, while the majority does the right thing. Then, when those parties get
to power, they usually change their mind in light of the facts. (Typical
example: The Green party in Germany, which was, of course, very anti-EU in the
80s. Now it's the AfD from the right-wing with the same silly arguments.)

Anyway, stop blaming journalists for not sharing your opinion. It's not their
role to please you, and if you want to hear what you already believe, there
are plenty of 'non-mainstream' media, i.e., personal blogs and politically
coloured news aggregation sites, to confirm your opinions.

The idea is patently absurd that people don't get enough choices in the media
nowadays and therefore could be mislead.

~~~
nwellnhof
The problem is that the mainstream media are, for the most part, rationalizing
an economic order that keeps poor countries poor. It's hard to deny that
policies imposed by the IMF on third world countries play a role in ruining
their agriculture and harming industrial development, to the benefit of the EU
bloc and other rich countries. Why shouldn't I blame journalists for not
informing the public about the actual reasons why millions of people are kept
in poverty? These issues never make the mainstream media headlines, so there's
nothing absurd about the claim that people are systematically mislead.

Also, just because an argument is made by people from the far left or far
right doesn't mean that it's wrong. Guilt by association is a cheap rhetorical
device.

~~~
JohnStrangeII
You're wrong, I believe. The EU does not keep poor countries poor. They are
poor because of structural weakness of their economy or because they are in a
transition phase. As I've said, there will always be poorer and richer regions
in Europe, and this has nothing to do with the EU.

------
mrtksn
It's an opinion piece by someone who is "Research Executive at Get Britain
Out".

So, propaganda.

~~~
hownottowrite
Side Reference: Donors to fee.org (Foundation for Economic Education)
[http://conservativetransparency.org/recipient/foundation-
for...](http://conservativetransparency.org/recipient/foundation-for-economic-
education/)

------
Angostura
The opening words of paragraph 2 are informative as to the bis of the source:

> As ever with the EU, the truth is much uglier.

The main thrust of the article may be correct, but broad-brushing every
activity of an organisation like the EU in this way does not instil
confidence.

~~~
aristidb
The fact that it showed me a pop-up advert for an Ayn Rand book was also
indicative.

------
holydude
In other words water is wet. The Eu benefits the strongest predator ( the
german conglomerates ). We can see it all over the europe how mainly germans
bought and bribed everyone they could.

