making poverty history or perhaps a little more bearable?

Five years with an international, faith-based nonprofit taught me much about differing points-of-view. As this chapter in my life comes to close, I find myself reaching for books covering the efficacy of relief & development. I like William Easterly's honest assessment of the situation. He is realistic, but not hopeless about the obstacles we face. Here is just one of the many suggestions he makes:

“Part of the solution is changing the rich-country political marketplaces that aid agencies face. If Western governments and NGOs really want to make poor people’s lives better, it will take some political courage to admit that doing everything is a fantasy. The rich-country public has to live with making poor people’s lives better in a few concrete ways that aid agencies can actually achieve.”