Видео

Small scale farming is what kept Haiti poor. Overpopulation, ecological degradation made small scale made small scale farming untenable. Rural Haitians are pouring into the urban areas: this is not the handiwork of foreign powers. This is already mass migration into the USA; the USA is getting all the low-pay labor it can absorb. The USA does not need Haitian cheap labor. The Human Development Index (HDI) of Haiti is very low: what economic enterprises is suitable to the Haitian people?

There is no such thing as the "heart of gold humanitarian aid". The foreigner is not an altruist. The foreigner is not supposed to be an altruist. Anyone depending on the altruism of the foreigner is setting itself as a fool. A clear-headed citizen understands where its interests lie; if the foreigner's interests are compatible with yours, the welcome mat is put out, if not then the foreigner is kept at a safe distance from the citizenry. Are failed nations supposed to become Blanche DuBois (“I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.”)? Silly people say: "Look at China being altruist to poor nations!!!" So much nonsense. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a glorified work program for Chinese: 70% of labor in BRI projects are Chinese, not locals. There is growing resentment of Chinese in the client BRI nations. The Ugly Chinese has replaced the Ugly American in many parts of the world. Some of the BRI projects are becoming degraded, betraying the quality of Chinese Engineering. China is pursuing its own interests, being just as exploitative as the past Colonial Powers. The power of the USA is the power of its Productive Citizens. The goal of the American Foreign policy is the promotion of the Productive Class: Farmers, Weaponeers (yes!!!), Auto Builders, Civil Engineers, Medical Professionals, Rocket Engineers, and the like. If a distressed country is suffering a famine, the USA provides food (more business for USA farmers!!!). The USA does not force any particular solution to the distressed country. The leaders of the distressed country can change and finetune Foreign Aid. It can be that the distressed country needs trucks, not food per se. Not a problem. The USA can provide trucks (more business for USA auto makers!!!). What is the point of being an Independent Nation if you let yourself being slapped around by foreign interests? Is Haiti supposed to be Blanche Dubois (“I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.”)? It does not have to be so. Remember the US invasion of Grenada in 1983? Ronald Reagan had Eugenia Charles (Prime Minister of Dominica) to invite the USA to invade Grenada. Once done (the invasion) Ronald Reagan had a personal conversation with PM Charles in a limousine ride and offered military aid. Ms Charles responded that she sees no need for military aid but economic aid will be appreciated. President Reagan hesitated. She continued: "I can ask another world power to provide the economic aid." President Reagan said he will think it over. Thus was the genesis of the Caribbean Basin Initiative. An aide of PM Charles who was in the limousine told me about this exchange. Yes, a PM of an island nation of 365 square miles (pop. = 80,000) can change the mind of the Leader of the Free World. The Haitian Leadership has a wet noodle for a spine.

Haiti has been a low-export country since 1804. As of 2022 AD, the export per capita in Haiti is just 1/20 of the per capita export in the rest of the Caribbean (excluding Cuba which is a collapsing communist economy). In 1820 AD, the export per capita in Haiti was 60% of the per capita export in the rest of the Caribbean; but then the other lands were colonies at the time. England gave naturally favorable trade conditions with its colonies, not to Spanish colonies, not to Haiti. Spain gave naturally favorable trade conditions with its colonies, not to British colonies, not to Haiti. Post 1776, England took over whatever trade there was between Haiti and the American Colonies. For several decades there was this USA-England fight for trade in the Central and South America. Haiti has been a low-export country since 1804 because Haiti was a low-production country. By 1820 England bought up to 80% of Haiti exports but, again, Haiti was not producing much for export. With such a low-export economy, no one, no business, no foreign nation is/was exploiting Haiti. With such a low-export economy, no one, no business, no foreign nation is/was interested in Haiti. Back in the colonial times one can argue that France exploited the slaves because Saint Domingue was exporting very large amounts of sugar, coffee, cacao, indigo. Saint Domingue was high-export. Haiti has always been low-export. In the early 1900's US occupied both Haiti and the Dominican Republic. These 2 nations went in drastically different ways. One cannot blame the US for Haiti's troubles. For decades foreign aid entrenched Haiti deeper in poverty and social unrest. So-called reparations to Haiti will have same effect as foreign aid.

The Haitian Revolution was an opportunistic and reactionary Revolution: if there were no French Revolution of 1789, there would have been no Haitian Revolution. There has always been slave revolts throughout the Americas and the Haitian slave revolts were no different from the revolts elsewhere. In 1789 France fell into crisis and was seen weak by the other European Powers. France was distracted by its troubles in Europe and cannot give full focus to its troubles in the Americas. Because of the wars amongst the colonial powers in Europe, Spain was distracted by its troubles in Europe and thus cannot give full focus to its troubles in the Americas. Spain being weakened, the Spanish colonies proceeded their campaigns of Independence from Spain. A silly commentator writes: "imo haiti barely had any chance to do anything, not to mention nation building, since they had to deal with how many coups from the west?" Incorrect. With the French Revolution of 1789, France was at war with various European powers. England and Spain attacked St Domingue not for St Domingue itself but because St Domingue was a French colony. Once Haiti became independent and Haiti had no Navy, Haiti became a NPC (non-playing character) in the war amongst the Colonial Powers. France had its hands full with fighting the European powers to be bothered much with Haiti. Yes, France got reparations from Haiti at no cost of French lives. After 1804, no European Power was interested in Haiti. The American Revolution was a deliberate and purposeful Revolution. In the 1770's England was in no crisis. If anything, the American Revolution may give an impetus to the French Revolution. The Founders predicted the excesses of the upcoming French Revolution. Haiti does not have the equivalent to the USA Federalist Papers.

Many Marxist commenters fall on the false counter-arguments of "not getting the full context", "oversimplication", "biased", etc... Said Marxists are in the grip of chauvinism (excessive or prejudiced support for one's own cause or group, in this case: Haiti). Marxists want to embrace a narrative that makes them comfortable. Marxists take comfort in Haiti, the mythology. History is just a story, a narrative. In French the word "histoire" can be either history or story. What does not change are historical documents and chronicles. History is the interpretation of said documents/chronicles. There is always an element of subjectivity in all Histories. Looking at the same set of documents/chronicles 2 historians will come up with 2 different histories. Just look at a common road accident: 10 witnesses will give 10 different accounts; yes, they may have some common elements but they will have some differences. Question: how to deal with the differences? Histories can serve different purposes. What is the purpose of your version of History? If you intend to inspire children to become good citizens then your History involves some deceit: underplay the bad and overplay the good. If you intend to provoke social change then your History involves some deceit: underplay the good and overplay the bad. The Marxist version of History will not lead you to a solution to Haiti's problem, will not lead you to a productive insight into Haiti's problems. Mythologizing is a barrier to solving country X's problems. Mythologizing makes difficult the uncovering of the inconvenient Truth. Proper diagnosis before proper therapy. Do not expect the proper diagnosis to be good news. Do not expect the proper diagnosis to be hopeful bad news. My version of Haiti's history will lead to proper diagnosis and a path to effective solution to Haiti's problems.

Reparations do not stifle economic development. Look at Germany who had to pay reparations for WW1 and WW2. And yet Germany became a powerhouse after WW1 and after WW2. What is missing in your worldview? Answer: human resources, the human development index. The German people had the proper mindset for effective nation building. The Haitian people never had the proper mindset for effective nation building. France is not obligated to return anything to Haiti. Haiti made an agreement with France, adult-to-adult. Haiti is not an infant. What is the point of being an Independent Nation if you let yourself to be slapped around by foreigners? There are maintenance costs to Independence. Independence is not free. Independence for independence's sake is a silly concept. Ask yourself: what is the purpose for Independence? What is the ultimate goal: winning the war? winning the peace? Since 1804 Haiti has been losing the Peace. A 5 year-old child is foolish to seek independence from the parents. Yes, France was a terrible parent. There is/was no International Child Protection Services for Nations. So Haiti, the 5 year-old child, was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Bad Karma for Haiti. Haiti is still stuck between a rock and a hard place because of its own bad governance.

I am amused by talking heads discussing without end about transition committees, United Nations programs, and other such "democratic" trivialities. The Ancient Greeks had it correct: the machinery of democracy is always too slow to fix a crisis. To fix a crisis the Ancient Greek Elders appoint a tyrant whose orders are followed without question. Key: without question; because questioning (via democratic process) takes too long while the crisis worsens. What are the characteristics of the ideal tyrant? Answer: Reputation for honesty, integrity, virtue, experience, wisdom, and VIOLENCE; and nationwide respect. The tyrant is chosen from the citizenry; the tyrant cannot be a foreigner. Also: the tyrant is wise enough to retreat from power when the crisis is solved away. Usually the tyrant has to exert violence upon those damaging the citizenry. Violence brings about primordial fear and respect is the underlayer of fear. One cannot fear without respect. Fear may foment Resentment and still respect lingers with Resentment. Respect of the capability of the tyrant to eliminate you. While the pundits, empty talking heads, politicians, intellectuals emitting hot air pollution about Transition Committees and Assorted Plans, Haiti needs to find its Tyrant (in the Ancient Greek meaning), its Cincinnatus. If Haiti can find a Toussaint L'Ouverture (NOT J.J. Dessalines) as tyrant, so much the better. Haiti needs to find its Bukele. Bukele. Of El Salvador. Bukele is Arab with Lebanese roots. Although elected democratically, Bukele had to act like a tyrant (in the Ancient Greek meaning) to bring order to El Salvador. Why bring up the Arab origin of Bukele? Many of the "oligarchs" in Haiti are of Arab descent. Just as talking heads and pundits have distorted perceptions of Haiti's gangs, said talking heads and pundits have distorted perceptions of Haiti's "oligarchs". These oligarchs can take their fortunes (millions of dollars, NOT billions) and live an easy life in the USA or Europe. However these oligarchs choose Haiti, a hellhole, as their home. No one aims to make their home shitty. These oligarchs came to Haiti as refugees from the Middle East after WW2. These refugees were Christian or Jewish, not Muslim. These refugees came with little fortune and definitely NO political power. These refugees became "oligarchs" through competency, work ethic, and business honesty. These oligarchs became such because they can get things done. At one point there were 6 foreign banks in Haiti. The last foreign bank, CitiGroup, left Haiti as of July 2024. The foreign Banks sold their interests to - I presume - haitian oligarchs. There are now 8 Haitian commercial banks. Why invest in an enterprise if you have no hope for said enterprise? What hope(s) do these oligarchs see in Haiti? The talking heads and pundits seem clueless about the hopes for Haiti.

The pundits say that elections will remedy Haiti's problems. Nope. One will just replace 1 set of bad buys with another set of bad guys. Main problem is institutional corruption. Yes, the first step is to eliminate the current gangs but a full and honest understanding of how and why the gangs came about is needed. Basic rule of Law needs to be established. Really basic. Property Rights connected to proper individual identity. Hernando de Soto, a Peruvian economist, understood that property rights are needed for economic progress. The Clinton Administration had the correct idea to reform the legal system in Haiti but found the records of ownership of land and businesses were very poor and frauds of all kinds were common. Land reform is needed. Proper identification of individuals is needed (with accurate birth and death certificates). For a time, foreign administration of Customs, Post-Office, Ports, and other Government Institutions is needed. Also K-16 curriculum needs to reformed. Unfortunately > 90% of haitian intellectuals are socialists. To paraphrase the philosopher The Joker, Haiti needs an enema. International Intervention in Haiti. Compare that with the USA failed attempts in "nation building" in Iraq and Afghanistan. Military victories are easily accomplished. Nation building is very difficult. The USA succeeded militarily in Iraq and Afghanistan but failed in "nation building". The "nation building" failure falls not on the USA but on Iraq and Afghanistan. The "nation building" success in post WW2 Japan and Germany falls not on the USA but on Japan and Germany. The mindset, value set, culture of the peoples of Japan and Germany were suitable for nation building. The intention of International Intervention in Haiti is nation building. Haiti is currently a failed state. The mindset, value set, culture of the people of Haiti is not yet suitable for nation building. To paraphrase a song by the late Eddy Kendricks: "Haiti, you need a change of mind".

When evaluating the situation of Haiti in 2024, events 50 years ago matter much more than events 200 years ago. Let us start with, say, year 1950. In 1950, Haiti was 36% richer (per capita) than South Korea, in 1998 South Korea was 16 times richer (per capita) that Haiti. The SKorea-Haiti gap has been growing since. Why the difference? South Korea suffered through WW2 and the Korean War; Haiti was left untouched. The mean, rotten, nasty, rapacious International Corporations landed in South Korea to exploit, despoil, violate mercilessly the nation's land, resources, and people. All that time, said exploiter Corporations ignored Haiti. What is worse than being exploited? Answer: not being exploited at all. Per capita GDP was nearly twice as high in Haiti as in Bangladesh back in 1950--but by 2001, per capita output was higher in Bangladesh than in Haiti (by about 15 percent). The Bangladesh-Haiti gap has been growing since. In 1950 the Haitian economy was more or less at the same level as the economy of the Dominican Republic. CY2009 per capita income, of Haiti = $1,340; of Dominican Republic = $8,672. The DR-Haiti gap has been growing since. The reparation issue is a red herring. The reparations were done by 1947. In 1950, Haiti was in better shape than many countries; Haiti was untouched by WW2. Without the reparations burden Haiti will be less poor, but poor nonetheless. Who wants to intervene in Haiti? The poverty and misery of Haiti is its best defense. When the USA embargoed Cuba in 1960 about 50,000 haitians (seasonal workers) were marooned. In the 1960's and 1970's Cuba sent revolutionary activists (military, civilian) to Central America, South America, the Caribbean, and Africa. But Castro sent no agents to Haiti. Puzzling, given that there is a large haitian community in Cuba from which to recruit agents. A journalist asked the Cuban Ambassador to the United Nations why no agents were sent to Haiti. Answer: "Who wants to inherit Haiti's problems?"

USA and Haiti. The first step of a voyage is the most important because errors made in the first step are rarely corrected and the rare corrections are made very slowly. George Washington accepted a second term reluctantly and rejected a 3rd term. Jean-Jacques Dessalines made himself Emperor. George Washington adhered to the principle of Federalism, with Democracy at the State level, Dessalines went from Presidency straight to Monarchy. Dessalines was followed by Henri Christophe who declared himself King. Haïti did not start going the Democracy route. Monarchists did not return to the USA but Monarchy returned to France at least twice after the French Revolution. Today (2024 AD), Marxists pine for the violence of the French Revolution. The American Revolution preceded the Haitian and French Revolutions by at least 10 years and the latter 2 revolutions learned nothing from the first. Go figure. Jean-Jacques Dessalines and Toussaint L'Ouverture. Current Haitian rap music extols Dessalines, not so much L'Ouverture. L'Ouverture was made Governor of Saint Domingue by the French and he understood what was needed to run a country. Not Dessalines who was strictly a military man for whom gunpowder was like cocaine. Contrast Dessalines with George Washington who was Farmer and Business Man more than being General and Politician. Toussaint L'Ouverture was not popular with the newly freed slaves. The ex-slaves stopped working the land but the General exhorted them to work even harder because now they were working for themselves and not for the former French slave owners. Yes, Toussaint L'Ouverture was captured by the French and died in prison in France. Jean-Jacques Dessalines took over. The main difference between L'Ouverture and Dessalines is that L'Ouverture was not keen in destroying the means of production and Dessalines was keen on such destruction. L'Ouverture may have been into "coupé têt" but not so much into "brulé cay". The politics, society, and culture of Haiti has always been very racially polarized. Freed slaves were uneducated and cannot govern. Black generals were competent in war but not in business, agriculture, finance. Haiti was thus governed by mulattos and remaining French (those not killed in the war of independence). For many decades Haiti ran on the "politique de doublure": Blacks being figureheads for the White/Mulatto Establishment.

Independence for independence's sake is a silly concept. Ask yourself: what is the purpose for Independence? What is the ultimate goal: winning the war? winning the peace? Since 1804 Haiti has been losing the Peace. A 5 year-old child is foolish to seek independence from the parents. Yes, France were terrible parents. There is/was no International Child Protection Services for Nations. So Haiti, the 5 year-old child, was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Bad Karma for Haiti. Haiti is still stuck between a rock and a hard place because of its own bad governance. In 1804 Haiti found itself in an awkward position: a slave-less Nation amongst slave-full Nations. The attitude of Spain, USA, England towards Haiti was not one of hostility (none of them attacked Haiti post 1804; Spain and England were busy fighting France and Haiti was no longer part of France) but of caution (after all, France did lose Saint Domingue and who knows what Haiti had up its sleeve). Given that Haiti had no naval power, the attitude of caution become one of indifference. Saint-Domingue's 2 largest exports: sugar and coffee. Cuba was becoming the sugar king. Colombia and Brazil were becoming coffee kings. Meanwhile, Haiti was selling off its mahogany, accelerating deforestation. No Nation, past and present, is 100% self-sufficient and thus needs to trade non-militarily with other Nations. Haiti needed to make itself an asset, not a liability, to the community of Nations. An independent Nation is an actual Nation even if other Nations do not recognize it as such. Look at Taiwan: despite not being recognized officially by many nations ALL nations want to trade with Taiwan. Taiwan is an asset to the community of Nations. One cannot say the same about Haiti. But, but, but Taiwan did not have to suffer the torture of French-style colonial slavery!!! Swing and a miss. The point of Taiwan, which suffered through Japanese colonialism, is that even when it is the object of the People's Republic of China's campaign to delegitimize Taiwan in the eyes of the International World, Taiwan is still thriving. But let us play the Victim Olympics Game. South Korea went through WW2 and the Korean War and by 1953 South Korea was in much worse physical state than Haiti has been in 1804. Yet today (2024 AD) South Korea is in much better shape than Haiti. Key difference: in 1954 the Korean people were more educated and civilized than the Haitian ex-slaves of 1804 who were utterly uneducated and very barely domesticated. Haiti had 200 years to civilize its population and no foreign power prevented the domestication of the Haitian people. Sorry Marxist revisionists: Simon Bolivar would still have accomplished his goals against Spain without Haiti's assistance; Haiti's token help was appreciated but it was not essential. Slavery in South America would still be abolished without the advice from Pétion. The USA would still have won over Great Britain without the 200-odd freed Haitian slaves who died in the battle of Savannah. The Marxist advocates for Haiti have lost perspective: the relevant issue is the Present and the Future, not the Past. The Marxist revisionists are stuck and lost in the weeds of the Past, grasping at straws, acting like some aged movie star looking at reruns of the very distant (and very irrelevant) glorious past.

USA and Haiti. For the USA, first was Declaration of Independence, second was War. For Haiti, first was War, second was Declaration of Independence. BIG DIFFERENCE. Years before 1776, the founders of the USA debated, argued, counter-argued about the requirements, attributes, qualities needed for nationhood, thus slowly forming a proper mindset and proper temperament of the american people for eventual nationhood. In the case of Haiti, there was first Rebellion, visceral Anger, most Righteous Anger, blood-churning lust for Revenge against the French colonists. War was engaged and won by the Haitian slaves. A war engaged without aforethought, without afterthought akin to a fight initiated by a hot-headed person driven by righteous anger. The war won, what now? Declaration of Independence of 1804 was the only valid alternative because re-inviting French rule defeats the purpose of the war. The key point is: in 1804 the Haitian people was not prepared for effective nation building. That the French came back in 1826, required and actually got reparations from Haïti implies that Haïti's independence was a façade, a joke. With Independence comes responsibility and the (supposed) ability to defend oneself. After 1804 Haïti built 20-odd fortresses about 5 miles inland: they would concede coastal areas because France had a Navy and Haiti did not. But Haiti got overextended with their invasion of the Dominican Republic (1821-1844). Ooops!!! But, but, but Haiti did not invade the DR, Haiti occupied the DR by INVITATION!!! Yep. In 1915 the USA occupied Haiti by INVITATION!!! In 1938 Germany occupied Austria by INVITATION!!! In 2014 Russia occupied Crimea by INVITATION!!! Independence Day in the DR celebrates independence from Haiti, not from Spain.

Why Haiti began and remains poor (pt 11 of 11). Other factors underlying the poverty of Haiti (2 of 2). >>>>> (D) Haitian Diaspora. The Haitian Diaspora is very generous to their Haitian brethren in Haiti. Is the diaspora having a long-term good or long-term harm? Loving parents may be overindulgent with their children: spoiled children do not mature to face the world successfully. Part 5 discussed the debilitating effect of remittances on the economic vigor of Haiti. There is nothing to prevent the Diaspora as individuals or groups to set up Investment Corporations in Haiti; so far this has not happened. Given the low Human Development Index (HDI) of the population, the degraded physical state of the country, and the low trust aspect of haitian culture, the Diaspora needs to be prepared to absorb great financial and commercial risk. Disappointment is waiting for the Diaspora who expect to be received with acclaim upon returning to Mother Haiti. Those who remain in Haiti look at those who emigrated as "exilés". There will be class clashes in the societal, cultural, political, economic arenas. Given the low trust character of haitian culture, how much trust would the native haitians (who remained in Haiti) have for the dilletante, the parvenu Diaspora? Mind you, the Cuban Diaspora will face similar disappointment when the communist regime in Cuba falls. Associated with the Haitian Diaspora is the issue of the American Immigration, more specifically mass immigration (legal and illegal). Paradox: improvement of Haiti will increase, not decrease, emigration from Haiti because then more Haitians will afford to migrate somewhere else. The current feckless American immigration policy solidifies the state of Poverty in Haiti and results in the ever increasing size of the Haitian Diaspora. Tale of 2 Diasporas. Haitian. Jewish. After many centuries the Jewish Diaspora was able to re-establish the State of Israel. Despite the wars with neighbors, Israel is thriving. The difference in the Diasporas is in the culture differences. To paraphrase a song by the late Eddy Kendricks: "Haiti, you need a change of mind". >>>>> (E) Evolution of the written Creole language. Créole becoming a co-official language is politically inevitable, especially by the haitian intelligentsia. Créole is essentially a spoken language with no indigenous writing. The evolution of créole writing, increasingly divorcing from French standards, makes it more difficult to have haitians integrated to the international economic, legal, and intellectual world. Making the Créole to French transition more difficult will embed Haiti deeper in Poverty. In the past, the créole 'k' sound was written as "que" or "c" or "k" or "q" depending what the corresponding French word is; now it is only "k". The "r" is now written as "w". This is just a small sample of the evolution of créole. The créole of today is less disciplined than the créole of, say, 30 years ago. Disciplined language engenders more intellectual rigor which in turn engenders greater prosperity. >>>>> (F) Mythologizing of Haiti. A popular saying: History is written by the winners. However... History written by the winners is not objective. There is always some nonzero degree of subjectivity in any and all versions of History. 10 witnesses of some historical event: 10 separate versions of the Truth about said historical event. History of country X written by the citizens of X tends to be mythologized. Mythologizing is inevitable when the adult citizens want to raise their children to be good citizens of country X: country X is glorious!!! country X is magnificent!!! All sales pitch of any kind have a degree of deceit: overplay the good and underplay the bad. Mythologizing is a barrier to solving country X's problems. Mythologizing makes difficult the uncovering of the inconvenient Truth. Proper diagnosis before proper therapy. Do not expect the proper diagnosis to be good news. Do not expect the proper diagnosis to be hopeful bad news. When you want to praise an ugly woman you say: "She sure can cook!". Whenever Haiti appears in the news, it is bad news, usually hopeless bad news. In a reflex action, the pro-Haiti apologists go mythologizing Haiti. "First Black Nation in the Americas!!!", "Colonial Powers wet their pants upon the raise of free Haiti!!!", "Haiti: beacon to the world for Liberation from Colonialist Oppression!!!", "Haiti: setting example to all Black Nations in the World!!!". Blah. Blah. Blah. The Haitian War of Independence (1791-1803) provides tons and tons of content for the wettest of wet dreams for the most fervent, ardent, activist marxist of Marxists. However, the retelling of the War of Independence does not feed the people. Mythologizing Haiti does not solve the poverty problem. Mythologizing Haiti does not bring political harmony. All this mythologizing reminds me of the old TV sitcom "Married with Children", with Al Bundy the shoe salesman reminiscing about his glory days of high school football. Is Haiti the Al Bundy of Nations? Man overboard. At sea, a proper response to "man overboard!" is to go up deck and scan visually to find the person who fell from the ship into the sea. Those who mythologize Haiti are akin to people who do not bother to scan the sea for the drowning person but who proceed instead to sing the praises of the person in distress. Mythologizing a drowning person is an odd response. All other countries which have had bad news such as Sudan, South Africa, Congo, Myanmar, Syria, Ukraine, Venezuela are not mythologized. Why? Why not?

Why Haiti began and remains poor (pt 10 of 11). Other factors underlying the poverty of Haiti (1 of 2). >>>>> (A) Socio-Political unrest. The current obsessive subject of international focus by pundits and commentators in the media. Socio-Political unrest is terrible. Socio-Political unrest does not foster beneficial progress of any kind. Constant Socio-Political unrest is characteristic of a low-trust Society. Socio-Political unrest contributes only to MISERY. Haitians do not mind poverty. Haitians just cannot tolerate MISERY. Nobody can tolerate MISERY. Haiti's poverty level should be compared with peer countries such as Barbados and not with the USA or the EU (European Union). The 2022 GDP per capita of Haiti, Jamaica, Cuba, Dominican Republic (DR), Barbados, EU is respectively $2K, $6K, $7K, $10K, $20K, $40K. Barbados is poor (compared to the EU) but NOT MISERABLE. The DR is poor (compared to Barbados) but NOT MISERABLE. Haiti is poor (compared to Jamaica) and MISERABLE. The Bahamas has a GDP per capita of $40K, comparable to the EU but most of the GDP comes from financial services which do not benefit the general population. Remove financial servicesand the Bahamas is no better than Barbados. I leave further analysis and interpretation of Haiti's Socio-Political soap-opera unrest to the flock of clucking chickens that is the set of pundits and talking heads in academia, politics, and media. >>>>> (B) Non-Governmental Organization (NGO). NGO's flock to Poverty like vultures to carcasses. NGO's flock to Haiti like flies to excrement. The intentions of NGO's are always good, virtuous, charitable, benevolent, generous, magnificent, altruistic, compassionate, magnanimous, and humanitarian. The consequences of the NGO actions are often against the putative intentions. Just like an overactive immune system causing auto-immune disease such as lupus and multiple sclerosis, overactive NGO's are causing pathologies in Haiti. First, NGO's attract educated Haitians to work for them thus depriving the Haitian government and Haitian private sector of needed talent. With the jobless epidemic in Haiti, job creation should be a priority for NGOs. Instead, they’re often part of the problem. Second, NGO's offer an easy and attractive stepstone to emigration, encouraging an exodus of needed talent out of Haiti. Third, NGO's do not want to solve the problems of Haiti and thus eliminate their raison d'être. Haiti is being "Palestinized" (UNRWA lasting more than 75 years), with the NGO's becoming permanent fixtures in Haiti. As of 2023 AD, there are supposedly 10,000 NGO's. There are more than 2,000 US-registered NGO's in Haiti. Overall, NGO's are better funded than the Haitian government and thus NGO's are in the driver's seat, not the Haitian government. The 3 Stooges trying to enter the room all at the same time and thus the 3 Stooges get stuck at the door. The NGO's as the 3 Stooges: so many of them and so little coordination. So many medicine-related NGO's and yet the healthcare in Haiti is in the toilet. >>>>> (C) Hatred and scapegoating of supposed oligarchs. Consider these countries and presidents in parentheses: Argentina (Menem, Kirchner), Brazil (Kubitschek, Rousseff, Temer), Peru (Fujimori, Kuczynski), Ecuador (Bucaram), Bolivia (Gueiler), Chile (Aylwin, Boric), Costa Rica (Michalski), Mexico (Sheinbaum), El Salvador (Bukele). What do these presidents have in common? Answer: they are non-Hispanic descendants of immigrants. Bukele is Arab. Currently haitian intellectuals are waging a campaign against "oligarchs", they name certain names: Abdala, Acra, Apaid, Boulos, Brant, Braun, Bigio, Baker, Coles, Helmke, Mevs, etc.. Many of the "oligarchs" in Haiti are Arab. Just as talking heads and pundits have distorted perceptions of Haiti's gangs, said talking heads and pundits have distorted perceptions of Haiti's "oligarchs". These oligarchs can take their fortunes and live an easy life in the USA or Europe. However these oligarchs choose Haiti, a hellhole, as their home. No one aims to make their home shitty. These oligarchs came to Haiti as refugees from the Middle East after WW2. These refugees were Christian or Jewish. These refugees came with little fortune and definitely NO political power. These refugees became oligarchs through competency and work ethic. These oligarchs became such because they can get things done within the dystopia that is Haiti. With no political power, recent immigrants (oligarchs-to-be) can only pursue economic power. Economic power can then buy political power. Political power per se cannot produce wealth. Political power per se can only steal wealth. Oligarchs entering the political arena put themselves at personal risk. Haiti needs more oligarchs, not fewer. Haiti needs to welcome immigrants capable to be oligarchs. Why the animus against so-call oligarchs? Answer: Overemphasis on equality and underemphasis on Liberty. Liberty engenders Action. Equality does not engender Action. Equality stifles Action. One may be free (have Liberty) to take Action. One can only be equal to someone or equal to some condition. The Bed of Procrustes is the agent of Equality: You are too tall? Cut off your feet. You are too short? Stretch your spine. Very few fit the bed exactly. Focus on Equality engenders J.E.A.R (Jealousy, Envy, Anger, Resentment), the life blood of Marxism. The so-called oligarchs are people of Action, engendering J.E.A.R. in others. Oligarchs are associated often with monopolies. However, many monopolies cannot exist without the consent of Government. The animus should be against Government, not the so-called oligarchs. Haiti has a low-trust culture. The focus on equality engenders J.E.A.R. and thus reinforces low-trust culture. In the spirit of J.E.A.R. the Government trust only a few players, thus producing State-sanctioned monopolies. Some oligarchs run natural monopolies: if a person is the only one capable to provide a certain good/service then said person has a natural monopoly. Haiti is a small country with a low Human Development Index (HDI) so natural monopolies are easy to establish.

Why Haiti began and remains poor (pt 9 of 11). Haiti and >>>>> NATURAL DISASTERS!!! <<<<< The Western Left love to blame Haiti's problems on >>>>> NATURAL DISASTERS!!! <<<<< , besides the eeeeevil influences of foreign powers. The Dominican Republic (DR) has 2 times the rainfall than Haiti!!! Nope. World Bank (2023 AD) annual rainfall (mm) for the DR and Haiti = 1410, 1440 respectively. Besides, the origin of the Artibonite (largest river in Haiti) is in the DR. If the DR mismanaged its ecology, the Artibonite would have run dry. The Artibonite valley is Haiti's bread basket. Haiti suffered much more damage then the DR from HURRICANES!!! Nope. Between 2018 and 2024 the number of hurricanes hitting the DR and Haiti = 14, 17 respectively. OK, Haiti has a slight edge in hurricane hits. And then some people say that since rice requires lots of water, hurricanes bring lots of water beneficial to the culture of rice. Haiti suffered much more damage then the DR from EARTHQUAKES!!! YES!!!!! Many clueless pundits start the story of Haiti's misery on Jan 12, 2010. But Haiti has been a poor and miserable country long before 2010. Look at Japan: plenty of earthquakes and yet Japan has not been a poor country. There is an old saying: "Haiti needs 2 winters with snow, the first one as lesson, the second one as examination". Well... Haiti had 2 earthquakes 10 years apart. Did Haiti pass the examination? Haiti earthquakes date............Magnitude.....deaths 08/14/2021________7.2_________2,248 01/12/2010________7.0_______316,000 Dominican Republic earthquakes date............Magnitude.....deaths 05/31/1953_________7.2_________0 06/24/1984_________6.7_________5 Dominican Republic tsunamis date............Magnitude....Wave Height......deaths 08/04/1947_______ 7.9___________5 m___________1,790 World Bank (2023 AD) annual rainfall (mm) Jamaica = 2,051 Cuba = 1,335 P. Rico = 2,054

Why Haiti began and remains poor (pt 8 of 11). Haiti and the <<< Natural Resources!!! >>>. Leprechauns looking for their pot of gold. Pundits, clueless about the fundamental causes of Haitian Poverty, go: "But, but, but Haiti has plenty of NATURAL RESOURCES!!! The greedy, evil, wicked, toxic, nasty, horrible, terrible Capitalists are suppressing, depressing, repressing, oppressing Haiti (because it is a Black Nation) to get to them delicious, yummy NATURAL RESOURCES!!!" Pundits, having no hope for Haitian human resources, are hoping on Haiti's natural resources. Yes, the Dominican Republic has exported $1.5B in gold in 2022. With Haiti on the same island, Haiti should be as rich as the DR!!! Right? Well... No. In 2022 total exports of the DR and Haiti are respectively $14B and $1.3B. Take out the $1.5B of gold from the picture and the DR 2022 exports are 14B -1.5B = 12.5B. Now transfer that $1.5B to Haiti's side and you get 1.3B +1.5B = 2.8B which is still 4.4 times (12.5/2.8) smaller than the DR numbers. Gold is not what makes the DR richer than Haiti. Yes, Haiti should develop whatever mineral resources it has but hoping that <<< NATURAL RESOURCES!!! >>> will deliver Haiti from Poverty is wishful thinking and unwittingly perpetuating the Poverty Mindset of the Haitian People. Venezuela has LOTS OF OIL!!! and yet its citizens lost on average 20 lbs in weight, fleeing the country which fell into Poverty in past few years. So oil alone (NATURAL RESOURCES!!!) does not make you rich. What is Venezuela lacking today that, say, Saudi Arabia has? Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso (Venezuelan politician), a founder of OPEC, complained in 1975: “I call petroleum the devil's excrement. It brings trouble...Look at this locura-waste, corruption, consumption, our public services falling apart. And debt, debt we shall have for years.” Amongst the European colonial powers, Spain and Portugal are poorer than England and France today. While Spain and Portugal were focusing on extracting Gold and Silver from the Americas, France and England were developing Agricultural Economies in the Americas (Extractive versus Production Economies). During colonial times Spain and Portugal did little to develop their own domestic economy, depending mainly on the Gold and Silver revenues from the Americas. OIL!!! OIL!!! OIL!!! Haiti has OIL!!! YES!!! Haiti has greater OIL and GAS reserves than Venezuela!!! Yep. With Oil found in the gulf of Mexico and Venezuela there will be Oil in parts in between. One speculates off-shore oil near Cuba. One speculates oil in central Haiti. It is natural that British Guyana (a neighbor of Venezuela) is developing off-shore oil. Oil companies are very aggressive and if oil extraction in Haiti is commercially feasible it would have been done a long time ago. Haitian politicians are just as corrupt as African politicians in Angola, Nigeria, Congo, and Gabon. Are Haitian politicians corrupt AND incompetent AND feckless? Iridium!!! IRIDIUM!!! IRIDIUM!!! Haiti has IRIDIUM!!! Second LARGEST deposits of IRIDIUM in the WORLD!!! A lot of speculation. Cuba has 2 iridium mines running. Cuba is not getting rich. Supposedly there are some iridium deposits in Haiti's South East (near the Haiti-DR border). So the DR is likely to have iridium. The DR has a much more developed industrial infrastructure than Haiti; I place my bets on the DR in the iridium play. Yes, Haiti should pursue the iridium play if commercially feasible. Haiti is out of the bauxite business since 1982. Jamaica 2022 bauxite export = $246 Million. Dominican Republic 2022 bauxite export = $4 Million. Haiti is out of the copper (not scrap metal) business since 1972. Dominican Republic 2022 copper (not scrap metal) export = $40 Million. With funding from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Haitian government planned to perform its first comprehensive geological survey in the late 1980s. I do not know the current status of the survey. Primary forest cover in Haiti (% total area) = 5% (1990), 4% (2010) Primary forest cover in the DR (% total area) = 39% (1990), 39% (2010) Primary forest cover relates to areas which are not cultivated and thus retaining the original biodiversity of millennia ago. Haiti and the DR have about the same population (11 M each). The DR is about twice as big as Haiti so the cultivated area in the DR is about the size of Haiti. Thus the cultivated area per capita in Haiti is the same in the DR. However the DR's productivity per unit cultivated area is much higher than in Haiti. Cultivated land is the NATURAL RESOURCES!! the Left does NOT lust for. Extracting Production from cultivated land requires blood, sweat, tears, and organization. That is too much work. The Left lusts for Mineral Deposits and Oil: bring in the foreigners to extract product while Haitians can lounge about and collect the sweet, sweet royalties. Those who mythologize Haiti's <<< NATURAL RESOURCES!!! >>> are unwittingly perpetuating the spirit of Poverty which is endemic in Haiti.

Why Haiti began and remains poor (pt 7 of 11). Haiti and rice. >>>>> The Clintons destroyed the Haitian rice farmers!!! <<<<< Blaming Haiti's rice imports on forced decreased rice tariffs from 50% to 3% (in the Dominican Republic the rice tariff is 20%) appear to be a bit misplaced. Haiti Imports, by year (A) = total($B); (B) = Petrol($M); (C) = Fabrics ($M); (D) = Palm Oil ($M); (E) = Wheat ($M); (F) = Rice ($M); (G) = Cars ($M); (H) = Poultry Meat ($M); (I) = Sugar($M); Year_______(A)______(B)______(C)_______(D)_____(E)_____(F)_______(G)_____(H)______(I) 2018_____4.18_____317______391_____118_____106_____254_____121_____100_____87 2019_____3.84_____292______384_____111_____143_____237______77_____103_____85 2020_____3.75_____240______294_____147_____108_____297_____129_____101____103 2021_____4.12_____295______413_____168_____112_____248_____170_____156____109 2022_____5.93_____525______275_____126_____160_____256_____126_____112_____91 A lot of focus on rice. The US is the major source of rice to Haiti. However one overlooks Haiti's deficits in Palm Oil, Poultry Meat, Sugar: are the Clintons making money off these commodities? Haitian rice production has remained essentially steady since the 1970s, at around 70,000 tons/yr. There were peak production of 90,000 tons in 1985, of 80,000 tons in 1996, of 77,000 tons in 2011. Year 2011 is interesting because the cholera outbreak in Haiti happened in the Artibonite Valley (rice growing region) on Oct 2020. Haiti 1960 rice production was 40,000 tons increasing gradually to 68,000 tons in 1970. Yes, rice production grew under mean, cruel, tyrannical Duvalier. I am not a fan of Duvalier but give the devil his due. Meanwhile, rice imports started to grow in 1985 at 700 tons (same time as Haiti's peak rice production), to 80,000 tons in 1990, to 150,000 tons in 1995, growing gradually to 300,000 tons in 2015. The forced (by Clinton Administration in 1996) tariff decrease to 3% evidently had NO effect on Haiti rice production. Besides, there is no way to boost Haiti's rice production 4-fold (= 400,000/90,000). At no point in history had Haiti produced 300,000 tons of rice annually. One has to look at the range of food crops in Haiti and food consumption in Haiti. With Haiti and the Dominican Republic, having roughly the same population (11M) and same cultivated area, in 2020 Haiti produced 70,000 tons of rice (and importing 300,000 tons of rice) while the DR produced 600,000 tons of rice. DR rice exports to Haiti: $24M (2018), $14M (2019), $2M (2020). Along with corn, beans, tubers and plantains, rice has an increasing share in the basic domestic diet due to the relatively low cost. Haitians used to consume rice once-a-week in the 1980’s. The higher food demand induced by the fast population growth and lower import tariffs implemented in the late 1980s to address this need made rice imports one of the least expensive carbohydrate sources. As a result, rice has become a basic item for daily use today. The low prices of imported rice have helped change consumption patterns of some consumers, enticing them to insert rice as a less expensive alternative source of carbohydrate. Blending imported rice with other starchy foods such as bread and imported pasta, and other staple foods like, plantains, sweet potato, cassava and dasheen has become part of the Haitian diet. A banana side story. I recalled seeing near Jérémie a cement post with a United Fruit Company (UFC) metal plate. I tried to find UFC's banana production in Haiti but I cannot obtain the relevant info since UFC went defunct in 1970. UFC presence in Haiti spanned from 1930 to 1948. In 1949 the Haitian government nationalized the banana business (took over UFC's operations). A few years later (1952?) the nationalized business went kaput. Has Haiti been exporting bananas lately? Probably, but I cannot find the numbers. All I can find is Haiti's 2022 fruit exports = $11M. In 2022 the fruit exports of the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Cuba are respectively $411M (of which $267M = bananas), $60M, $0.5M (of which $30K = bananas). In 2023 the kg/person banana production of Haiti, Cuba, Jamaica, and the Dominican Republic is respectively 22.7, 23.2, 23.3, 117.8.

Why Haiti began and remains poor (pt 6 of 11). Haitian remittances (2018 - 2022) (year) ($Billion per year) (population M) ($ per capita per year) 2018_____2.42_____11.0______220 2019_____2.51_____11.2______224 2020_____3.27_____11.3______289 2021_____3.66_____11.4______321 2022_____3.10_____11.6______267 The Haitian remittances are quite substantial in absolute dollars (billions of dollars, INCREDIBLE!!!), quite modest on a per capita basis ($250/year/person). A good thing (the haitian diaspora love their families still living in Haiti). A bad thing (what?!?!): the remittances make Haiti more dependent and less independent. I thought Independence was an ultimate good. Something strange is happening in Mexico: as of 2024 AD, there is a shortage of farm workers in Mexico. Why? Answer: the farm workers are going to the USA and sending remittances back to Mexico. Are there unemployed people in Mexico? Yes. Could said unemployed people fill in the farmer shortages in Mexico? Yes. Why is there still a shortage of farm workers in Mexico? Answer: they do not need to work because they are getting remittances from their relatives in the USA. The effects of remittances in Mexico are also happening in Haiti. The recipients of the remittances become either pure consumers or invest in non-export enterprises (low barrier entry) such as restaurants, beauty salons, home improvements, taxi services, etc.. Export enterprises such as auto manufacturing, energy production, etc. require large investments upfront and large risk exposure, something not amenable by remittances. Remittances suppress the productive power of a nation. Remittances have a narcotic effect on the recipients, just like the Welfare State has a debilitating effect on the welfare recipient (intergenerational dependency). Haiti's source of foreign exchange (%). (A) = Remittances, (B) = Exports, (C) = Official Development Assistance, (D) = Tourism, (E) = Foreign Business Investment Source___(A)_____(B)______(C)_____(D)______(E) 2000_____37______37______14______10_______2 2005_____50______27______15_______5_______3 2010_____30______15______44_______8_______3 2015_____38______30______20______10_______2 2020_____55______18______15_______8_______4 It is not a good sign that for Haiti the remittances are becoming the majority (55% in 2020) of foreign exchange revenue. Tourism and Foreign Business Investment have flatlined in the past 20 years. In 2022 Haiti's exports were 1.3B (compared to remittances of 3.1B). Exports are (clothing = 965M) (vetiver oil = 34M) (scrap metal = 25M) (electric equipment = 10M)(alcohol = 7M) (fruits = 11M) (fish = 7M). Meanwhile in 2022 Haiti imported more than $1B of goods/services from the Dominican Republic. Yes, Haiti is getting out of the agriculture business and diving deeper into the sweatshop business. Meanwhile, USA, Canada, Australia are the main food exporters of the world and they are developed nations. Meanwhile, Denmark (pop = 6M) (area = 43,100 km^2) 2022 Pork Exports = $3B; #5 Globally Ranked in Pork Exports (#1 = Spain $6B; #2 = USA $5B; ). Denmark is a developed nation. Increased dependency on remittances assures Haiti's poverty.

Why Haiti began and remains poor (pt 5 of 11). Frederick Douglass' speech on Haiti in Chicago (January 2, 1893) A silly commentator writes: "To debunk your own self, Google Frederick Douglass Chicago speech on Haiti." The speech is very long and I will touch only the most salient points. Frederick Douglass was presenting the Haitian exhibit at the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 held in Chicago that celebrated the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' voyage to the Americas. To sell the Haitian exhibit to the audience Douglass had to mythologize Haiti (overplay the good, underplay the bad). However, if all Douglass did was to mythologize Haiti, he will be seen as dishonest and fake. So Douglass had to tell some facts about Haiti to retain credibility. Now the speech (My comments will be in brackets [...]): ... it is a remarkable and lamentable fact, that while Haiti is so near us and so capable of being so serviceable to us ... selling her coffee and her other valuable products to Europe for gold, and sending us her gold to buy our flour, our fish, our oil, our beef and our pork; while she is thus enriching our merchants and our farmers and our country generally, she is the one country to which we turn the cold shoulder. ... >>>>> [By selling her coffee and other products to Europe, isn't Haiti enriching herself? Why the complaint that the US is enriching itself by selling flour, oil, beef, pork to Haiti? How one is giving a cold shoulder to a country with which one is doing commerce? An illogical argumentation by Douglass.] But a deeper reason for coolness between the countries is this: Haiti is black, and we have not yet forgiven Haiti for being black or forgiven the Almighty for making her black. >>>>> [Subjective opinion of Douglass. This is 1893 and the USA has already recognized Haiti as a sovereign country. Political Resentment by Blacks started early.] In every other country on the globe a citizen of Haiti is sure of civil treatment. In every other nation his manhood is recognized and respected. >>>>> [Nope. Definitely not in France which was collecting reparations from Haiti. More racial resentment from Douglass. While the USA had 100% of its slaves in the USA, Europe had 99% of its slaves OUTSIDE Europe. In the 1890's the occasional Black in Europe is seen NOT with respect but with curiosity.] Besides, after Haiti had shaken off the fetters of bondage, and long after her freedom and independence had been recognized by all other civilized nations, we continued to refuse to acknowledge the fact and treated her as outside the sisterhood of nations. >>>>> [Nope. This is 1893 and the USA has already recognized Haiti as a sovereign country. Political Resentment by Blacks started early.] The attempt to create angry feeling in the United States against Haiti because she thought proper to refuse us the Mole St. Nicolas, is neither reasonable nor creditable. >>>>> [Nope. There was no popular animosity against Haiti because a military base cannot be set in Mole St. Nicolas. Such request was made several times and Haiti refused. So what. Later the US got Guantanamo in Cuba.] She produces coffee, cotton, log-wood, mahogany and lignum-vitae. >>>>> [Notice that sugar was not on the list of Haitian products.] With such an income, if Haiti could be kept free from revolutions, she might easily become, in proportion to her territory and population, the richest country in the world. >>>>> [Western Left applauds: "HAITI THE RICHEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD!!!". The mythologizing of Haiti. Douglass was realistic with the caveat: "free from revolutions".] And yet she is comparatively poor, not because she is revolutionary. >>>>> [So revolution did not make Haiti poor?] I have said that the men did not strike me as equal to the women, and I think that this is largely due to the fact that most of the men are compelled to spend much of their lives as soldiers in the service of their country, and this is a life often fatal to the growth of all manly qualities. Every third man you meet within the streets of Port au Prince is a soldier. >>>>> [This is the legacy of Dessalines: Militarism and Gunpowder. Gangs in Port-au-Prince, 2024 AD: sounds familiar?] Yet, there she is, torn and rent by revolutions, by clamorous factions and anarchies; floundering her life away from year in a labyrinth of social misery. Every little while we find her convulsed by civil war, engaged in the terrible work of death; frantically shedding her own blood and driving her best mental material into hopeless exile. The explanation is this: Haiti is a country of revolutions. They break forth without warning and without excuse. Under such a condition of things a tranquil mind is impossible. There is ever a chronic, feverish looking forward to possible disasters. Incendiary fires; fires set on foot as a proof of dissatisfaction with the government; fires for personal revenge, and fires to promote revolution are of startling frequency. Manifestly, this revolutionary spirit of Haiti is her curse, her crime, her greatest calamity and the explanation of the limited condition of her civilization. Certain it is that while this evil spirit shall prevail, Haiti cannot rise very high in the scale of civilization. While this shall prevail, she will resemble the man cutting himself among the tombs. While this shall prevail, her rich and fruitful soil will bring forth briers, thorns and noxious weeds. While this evil spirit shall prevail, her great natural wealth will be wasted and her splendid possibilities will be blasted. >>>>> [Signs of a low trust society. This is 1893: there was no foreign campaign against Haiti. The Haiti revolutions were against and amongst Haitian factions.] The common people of Haiti are peaceful enough. They have no taste for revolutions. >>>>> [Incorrect. If the common people were peaceful, when given guns they would have dropped said guns. Sorrowfully, the common people love the adrenaline rush brought by violence, blood, and gore. Douglass was such an innocent.]

Why Haiti began and remains poor (pt 4 of 11). Response to some Marxist objections. (1) In 1804 there were embargoes against Haiti by France, England, USA. However these embargoes were quite porous since private merchants (English, French, American, Spanish) were still doing commerce with Haiti. In 1807 English abolished Transatlantic slave trade and in 1808 England ended the Haiti embargo; by 1814 more than 80% of Haitian trade was with England. Besides in the 1800's England and Spain were at war with France so little military naval effort was focused on Haiti. Haiti had no military navy, no merchant marine so Haiti had no capability to pursue merchant trade, no capability to project military naval power on its own. Haiti was at the mercy of others for maritime trade. Even before England ended officially the embargo (1808) England was supplying Haiti with cannons and other artillery equipment. England was at war with France and "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" jazz. (2) Many nations, when newly established, were not given a "welcome basket" by the community of Nations. The birth of the USA was greeted with war with England. The birth of Israel was greeted with war with Arab nations. The USA recognized the USSR in 1933 and the USSR was established in 1917. And yet there was USA-USSR trade before 1933. The USA recognized the People's Republic of China in 1979 and the PRC was established in 1949. And yet there was USA-PRC trade before 1979. These trades occur despite ideological differences. These trades occur because the USSR and the PRC had goods/services to offer to the community of Nations. By 1804 Haiti utterly wrecked its economic infrastructure and had little to offer to trade with the community of Nations. (3) The American Occupation of 1915-1934 did not impoverish Haiti. On the contrary, the Americans built up Haiti's degraded infrastructure: 180 bridges were built; the Péligre Dam (source of up to 1/2 of the nation's electric power) was started; Port-au-Prince was the first city in Caribbean/Latin America to have an automatic dialing phone system; General Hospital of Port-au-Prince was built; 10 more hospitals built outside of Port-au-Prince; 1000 miles of roads were built; the first Agricultural College was established in Damiens; Jacmel was the first town in the Caribbean to be electrified; US Navy built some 150 rural clinics; lighthouses were built; harbors were dredged; etc.. But, but, but the corvées!!! Americans used FORCED LABOR to build the roads!!! Nope. The corvée laws were on the books by the Haitian government since 1804. Since many communities cannot pay taxes by money, they pay said taxes by maintaining the roads near their localities. The corvée laws were derived from Ancient Roman Law. The communities were not paying their taxes with the consequence being that the roads were badly degraded. The American were simply applying Haitian Law; the tax delinquent communities needed to pay up with labor. Nobody enjoys paying taxes in any shape or form. It is cruel and inhumane to make tax delinquents to pay taxes (the horror!!!). Yet, from 1915-1934, Haiti was still a low-export economy. There were a few American companies present such as United Fruit but their operations were small compared to their operations in Central America. 3 main reasons: (a) Legal restrictions on foreigners owning land in Haiti (b) most cultivated land was owned by small farmers (c) the small farmers did not work with American companies. In Central America most cultivated land was owned by a few oligarchs and said oligarchs worked with the American companies. Yet, from 1915-1934, Haiti's per capita exports compared to the rest of the Caribbean more than doubled from 8% (1915) to 18% (1934); said ratio is 60% (1820), 5% (2005). (4) Conflict of visions between the populace (ex-slaves) and the Haitian elite (White, Mixed, Black). The ex-slaves wanted nothing more than a piece of land and cultivate it for their basic needs. Essentially the ex-slaves wanted a Subsistence Economy, a Survival Economy. Nation building was not on the mind of the ex-slaves. Nation building was on the minds of the elite who knew fully well that Haiti cannot be totally self-sufficient and thus needed to rebuild the economy to produce goods/services to trade with other Nations. The elite wanted to rebuild the plantation system and the ex-slaves wanted none of that!!! Henri Christophe (Black) was able to impose the plantation system in the North but at the cost of raising anger of the peasant (ex-slave) class. The peasant anger became so great that Henri Christophe committed suicide in 1820. Ironically, Northern Haiti under Christophe (Black) became wealthier (relatively) than Southern Haiti under Pétion (Mulatto) who pushed for Land Redistribution, not Plantation system. (5) Marxists sweep under the rug the occupation of the Dominican Republic by Haiti. Why? Because it does not fit the narrative of Haiti being a victimized innocent. Haiti occupied the Dominican Republic from 1821 to 1844. Haitian president Boyer confiscated all church property, all lands owned by Whites, and deported all foreign clergy. Oh, but that was the second invasion by Haiti; in 1805, the Haitian Army invaded the Dominican Republic, reached Santo Domingo, and made a fast retreat using the destroy and burn tactics much favored by J.J Dessalines. On the way 500 were decapitated in Moca, another 400 decapitated in Santiago (Dessalines loves the "coupé têt"). Why the retreat? There were reports that a French flotilla was coming towards Port-au-Prince. Even after 1844 the Haitians did not give up; for the next 12 years there were several minor military excursions into the Dominican Republic. Militarism, combined with Subsistence Economy, deepens Poverty. But, but, but Haiti did not invade the DR, Haiti occupied the DR by INVITATION!!! Yep. In 1915 the USA occupied Haiti by INVITATION. In 1938 Germany occupied Austria by INVITATION. In 2014 Russia occupied Crimea by INVITATION. Independence Day in the DR celebrates independence from Haiti, not from Spain. (6) Reparations to France: the Marxists' favorite bugaboo. Were the reparations the fundamental cause of Haiti's poverty? Answer: NO. Haiti was already entrenched in Poverty by 1826 when France demanded reparations. Mind you, the 1826 reparation demand was the THIRD request; the previous 2 were made to Christophe (refused), to Pétion (refused). The third time was the charm for France. Haiti's 1821 invasion of the Dominican Republic (DR) was a strategic error. Military adventurism and a moribund economy made for a very bad mix. France was not stupid. After 5 yrs of Haiti being stuck in the DR quagmire, France popped up (again!) and made the reparations demand. Haiti cannot fight both the French and the Dominicans. Haiti decided to pay reparations. France asked only for 1 year's worth of colonial output. In 1820, Haiti's output was only 1/20 of colonial output; that it took Haiti more than 100 years to pay the reparations is no surprise. From 1826-1844 Haiti plundered the DR of its wealth to pay as much as it can for the reparations. (7) Often politically driven programs do not bring Economic or Societal Progress. What feels good usually does no good. Embracing victimhood (politically popular as of 2024 AD) brings no kind of prosperity. Become a victim and win a prize!!! Victims of the World, Unite!!!

Why Haiti began and remains poor (pt 3 of 11). (E) Subsistence Economy. The old and recent historical data show that exports are a small part of Haiti's economy. Settling for a Subsistence Economy, a Survival Economy is OK. There are tribes living the Stone Age style deep in the Amazon forest and in the jungles of the Congo and Papua New Guinea for thousands of years. Subsistence Economy can be done. However the Planet is populated with Predatory Nations. Fortunately for the Stone Age inhabitants of the Amazon, Central Africa and Papua New Guinea, they have the military protection of the sovereign countries in which they live. The Amish lives in a somewhat Subsistence Economy and there is no Amish Nation: the Amish community is part of the USA and is thus protected by the USA. Trying to maintain proper military power with a Subsistence Economy cannot be sustained for long. Up to 1840, the Haitian military consumed 50% of the government budget, then the consumption went down to 25% by 1860. (F) The low trust character of Haitian society. The Haitian and French revolutions have a few things in common: they are both based on J.E.A.R. = Jealousy, Envy, Anger, Resentment. JEAR is the blood of Socialism and Communism. The concern for "equality" is the launchpad for JEAR. Words "equal(ity)", "democracy" appears _________________________________Equal(ity)____Democracy US Declaration of Independence_____1_____________0 US Constitution____________________0_____________0 French Constitution 1793___________3_____________1 French Constitution 1958__________10_____________4 Haiti Constitution 1805___________3_____________0 Haiti Constitution 1987___________7_____________4 All the freed slaves in Haiti were given a plot of land and then the fun began. The Ancients had it correct: give 3 people equal amount of money at sunrise and they will become unequal before sunset. Dessalines was on his way to deal with some land speculators when he was assassinated. The point is: large-scale farms are much more efficient than small-scale farms and cooperative farms in Haiti were difficult to establish and these rare cooperatives did not last long. Thus time after time, Haiti falls back to a Subsistence Economy. Are there today (2024 AD) large landowners (you know, them evil, nasty, greedy oligarchs!)? Yes. However, in 1950, 80% of the Artibonite Valley (where rice is grown) was still in the hands of the small farmers. The national economic dynamics is still dominated by small-land farmers. The Amish, again. Amish companies are usually no more than 5 employees. Yet said small companies frequently combine together for large tasks. The trust aspect of Amish culture is rare in Haitian society. Mind you, Amish runs a mainly Subsistence Economy, not an Industrial Economy. If Haiti were Amish country, Haiti would be in much better shape. Mind you, the Amish are not warmongers and they would not invade the Dominican Republic. >>>>> Summary: Saint Domingue was a super producer of sugar in the late 1700's because of large-scale farming. Then came Independence of 1804. Land Reform: everyone gets equal share of the Land. Consequence of Land Reform: small-scale farming which brings about at best a Subsistence Economy, a Survival Economy. Haiti thus lost the status of Sugar Super-Producer and started on the Road to Poverty. Constant political turmoil is characteristic of a low-trust society. The low trust nature of Haitian culture makes difficult the establishment of cooperative farming needed for economic growth. Some may say that Haiti is not poor, that Haiti is impoverished. Poor. Impoverished. The Merriam-Webster dictionary used as an example phrase: "a country may become impoverished after a devastating war". Yes, Saint Domingue was rich. Then Saint Domingue became impoverished after a devastating war. The impoverished Saint Domingue became Haïti. Haïti started poor and has remained poor for the next 200+ years. Since 1804 Haiti had a low-export economy, namely a Subsidence Economy, a Survival Economy. Low-Export = Poverty. High-Export = Prosperity. The Low-Export Economy was and is the wish of the peasant (ex-slave) class. Democracy at play: the majority class (the peasant/ex-slave) prevailed over the minority class (the elite bourgeois) on economic matters. The elite (the bourgeoisie) wanted, wished a High-Export economy but such an economy cannot be accomplished without the labor and consent of the worker/peasant (ex-slave) class. In Haiti, a Marxist Economy was achieved long before the foundation of Marxism was put on paper.

Why Haiti began and remains poor (pt 2 of 11). Marxists keep harping that Haiti was France's richest colony!!! Haiti, under the French, did produce 1/2 of the world sugar output. Wow!!! Them slaves were super-producers!!! Kick the French out and Haiti will remain super-producer and the sugar riches go to the former slaves (aka haitians)!!! Right? Well... No. The following shows coffee and sugar exports in 1785 (colonial times), 1800 (war of Independence), 1820 (16 yrs after the 1804 liberation): Exports from Haiti (Million lbs) Year__________________1785____1800_____1820 Sugar (Muscovado)______95______20________5 Sugar (Clayed)___________50_______0________0 Coffee__________________80______40_______25 Sugar exports fell from 145 Million lbs to 5 Million lbs, a 96% drop. What happened to Haiti, the sugar super-producer? When Haiti dropped out of the sugar game, Cuba took over the sugar commerce in a very big way. Haiti's fall from sugar had little long-term impact on the sugar market. France's economic might did not suffer much from the loss of Saint Domingue. But, but, but Napoléon had to sell the Louisiana Territories to the USA because the war in Haiti was so costly!!! Yes and No. Yes the war in Haiti was costly but so were the wars Napoleon was waging in Europe. Sorry, Marxist revisionists: even if France retained Haiti, the Louisiana Territories would still be sold to the USA. Why did Haiti go down the poverty road? 6 main reasons. (A) Sugar mills and supporting infrastructure were destroyed by J.J. Dessalines and his associates. Dessalines was very big on "coupé têt" and "brulé cay". Enough said. (B) The Haitian people were not ready for nation building. USA and Haiti. For the USA, first was Declaration of Independence, second was War. For Haiti, first was War, second was Declaration of Independence. BIG DIFFERENCE. Years before 1776, the founders of the USA debated, argued, counter-argued about the requirements, attributes, qualities needed for nationhood, thus slowly forming a proper mindset and proper temperament of the american people for eventual nationhood. In the case of Haiti, there was first Rebellion, visceral Anger, most Righteous Anger, blood-churning lust for Revenge against the French colonists. War was engaged and won by the Haitian slaves. A war engaged without aforethought, without afterthought akin to a fight initiated by a hot-headed person driven by righteous anger. The war won, what now? Declaration of Independence of 1804 was the only valid alternative because re-inviting French rule defeats the purpose of the war. The key point is: in 1804 the Haitian people was not prepared for effective nation building. (C) Voodoo. Take a couple steps back and look at North America versus South America. South America had a 100 year head start over North America in the colonization game. It did not take long before North America surpassed South America in economic and military power. How come? Answer: the culture of South America is based on Catholicism which emphasizes on obedience to the hierarchy and the culture of North America is based on Protestantism which emphasizes the work ethic and salvation through good works. Anglophone ex-colonies did better than ex-colonies of France, Spain, Portugal. Voodoo played a prominent role in the Haitian Revolution and haitian culture; Voodoo has much more in common with Catholicism than with Protestantism. Catholicism is the religion of the elite. Voodoo is the religion of the masses. (D) Land Reform. More precisely Land Redistribution. Land Redistribution in the early 1800's were politically driven, not economically driven. In 1804, at least 90% of haitians were newly freed slaves and they ALL want a piece of land. It is very understandable. Land Redistribution was inevitable because otherwise there was to be another peasant (former slave) revolt. However the land reform brought about the collapse of the agriculture economy as compared to the colonial-era economy. Under White rule Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) was the breadbasket of Africa. Under Black rule, with Land Reform, Zimbabwe becomes a Food Importer. Land Reform in itself does not improve a country's economy, it needs to be supplemented with something else like an Industrial Reform. Post WW2 Taiwan had Land Reform (before WW2 Taiwan was a colony of Japan) SUPPLEMENTED with Industrial Policy. Land Redistribution may solve a political problem but not the economic problem.

Why Haiti began and remains poor (pt 1 of 11). During its colonial days, Haiti’s slave plantations supplied over half of the world’s sugar. But after the slaves gained their freedom from the brutal regime and the country declared independence in 1804, sugar disappeared from the economy as small farms produced coffee, subsistence agriculture, and food for local markets. In 1950, when Haiti was at least producing some sugar, its exports were far behind comparable countries: sugar exports in Puerto Rico were 35 times higher, and in the Dominican Republic exports were 14 times higher. A common explanation for Haiti’s resistance to producing sugar is that Haitian culture rejected the industry because of the associated historical traumas. However Haitians went to the DR, Cuba, even Puerto Rico to harvest sugar cane so there was not much of a cultural stigma towards the sugar industry. A major contributor to Haiti’s failure to restore its sugar economy was historical property rights institutions that created significant transaction costs to starting large-scale farms. 3 post-Independence property rights institutions: (1) a large redistribution of the former French plantations; (2) inheritance patterns on peasant land that gave every family member a veto right to selling it; and (3) a constitutional ban on foreigners owning land in Haiti. But the property rights institutions in Haiti are important because they were not established by colonists; instead, they were created by a newly independent nation in reaction to colonists. These are post-colonial institutions. From 1900 to 1960, sugar accounted for 76 percent of Cuba’s export value, 51 percent of the Dominican Republic’s, 46 percent of Puerto Rico’s, and 26 percent of Jamaica’s. Sugar contributed only 5 percent to Haiti’s exports. Less than 10% of Haiti's sugar production was exported whereas for the other Caribbean countries about 90% was exported. Since 1987 (demise of HASCO) sugar in Haiti has been a cash crop raised by peasants rather than by large-scale plantations. Sugar Exported (Million lbs) ...............Haiti.......Dom.Rep.......P.Rico.......Jamaica.......Cuba 1900______1_______150________200_________2_______1,000 1910______1_______250________500_________3_______2,000 1920______2_______300________700________10_______5,000 1930______3_______550______1,000________50_______2,000 1940______4_______700______1,500_______200_______4,500 1950______5_______900______1,600_______400_______7,000 In 2014, on coffee: Country__________________Haiti______Dom.Rep.____Cuba______Jamaica Production (tonnes)______19,500_____13,500______9,000_____1,620 Export (tonnes)___________120______1,020________660_____1,320 Export/Production (%)_______0.6________7.6_________7.3_______81.5 Population (M)_____________10.4_______10.3_______11.3_______2.8 Area (1000 km^2)___________27.8_______48.7______110.9______11.0 In part 2 of this series, I show that while the sugar industry had a 96% collapse post 1804, coffee suffered only a 75% collapse. Pre-1804 Saint-Domingue also provided 50% of world supply of coffee. Post 1804, coffee was the only saving grace for the Haitian economy. Why? Because coffee requires less labor and maintenance than sugar. Because it was more difficult to destroy coffee estates (mountains) than it is to destroy sugar estates (plains). Since 1804 Haitian coffee production never reached more than 35% of colonial levels. Still by 1820 the Haiti export per capita was only 60% of the export per capita in the rest of the Caribbean (which were still colonized). In 2014 Haiti exported 0.6% of its coffee production while Jamaica exported 81.5% of its coffee production. The low-export nature of the Haitian economy is based on the 2 principles of the ex-slave farmers: zero risk and zero investment.

The pelt/flu story was literally jaw dropping does anyone have a link to documentation of that?

Hopefully this is a true turning point on the international stage. Very inciteful to hear from Avi Shlaim the day the decision was released.

the boys are getting big, more and more scholars on the show 😁😁

If by now you don't see Israel as evil, it is because you are too.

💗Free Palestine ☝

South Africans watching ❤thanks alot guys

Viva la revolucion

They're eating the pink slime tmcr. They're eating the raccoon ankles

Champage Commie

I feel like internationalism is the most subversive thing about AES. They call Cuba's medical program slavery and they call the DPRK a hermit kingdom even though they have brought and trained liberation fighters from several countries because it shakes them to their core

TY for such a great interview. I have a couple of Mr. Prashad books what a wonderful human being. I was around when Salvador Allende was Coup I was 13 no MSM talked about it but my Step Dad was in the Army didn't really talk about it. But because I had already protested against Vietnam he told me "Be more wise about what your doing with these people."

Can you link me the Oka documentary you guys mentioned pls

another amazing interview, well done!

Mr Prashad much appreciated

I will listen to this while I eat, thanks for the upload

Cuba is trying to develope a tourism economy, the u.s. is developing a t*rr*r*sm economy

Contagion of defiance. I like it

thanks for the upload very informative

Interviewing all the greats

What’s up Doc

🙏🇨🇺

What’s up doc

Thank you for having captions enabled. ♡

Amazing work guys! Ive been studying this rigorously for over a year and still learned a lot!

Jerry Horn! 😂

A whole series with Vijay Prashad?! That’s awesome! I can’t wait. Lots of great questions. I’m sure Vijay isn’t used to that level of research and reading being done on his books for an interview. I didn’t know the west claims that Cuban doctors are essentially slaves smh. And when Vijay spoke about Guatemala that was very interesting, too. Thanks again for the interview!