2008 Woodie Awards
Bono: Friend of Poverty, not the Poor
Charles Johnson
Last Updated: 5/1/08 Section: News
Like all children of the 1990s, I danced to Bono's songs and never questioned the wisdom of his policies. Many, including those who brought him to speak at Bridges Auditorium, seem stuck on his celebrity and unwilling to explore the net effect of his various programs.This cult of celebrity lends itself to failed policy. While the problems facing Africa cannot be summed up with Bono-esque sound bytes or state-style planning, they can and must be solved from the ground up.
First, we need to explore his celebrity. When I was younger, I loved Bono. As a then-Christian, Bono said all the right things and couched them in the cadence of Scripture. My ministers loved him. At the behest of my minister, I even read Bono's introduction to Jeffrey Saches (flawed) End of Poverty, hoping that Bono and his rock star professor could solve the problems of the world, just as he could climb the pop charts. They can't.
Like his song "Stuck on A Moment," many are stuck on Bono's perceived goodness. (Indeed, his very stage name comes from latin: Bono means "good". Bono cultivates this cult of celebrity by encouraging his followers to dream big. And who doesn't want to dream big? He meets with heads of state and academics who share his capacity for imagination. The Boston Globe reported that he even met with bankers at Mortgage Bankers Association, who, smitten with him, promptly forgot subprime mortgage concerns as Bono waxed elegant about the plight of Ethiopians.
Bono thinks grand because he suffers from grandeur. He established Edun, a high end clothing line sewn in developing nations. His Inspi(RED) campaign purports to tackle the scourge of A.I.D.S. with mass consumption. (Just how exactly it can make that claim, when it spends $100 million on advertising and brings in $18 million, remains a source of contention, according to Advertising Age.) He advocates debt relief for Liberia - $800 million from the IMF, $4.5 billion all told - in front of the International Monetary Fund. He even wants to build the tallest tower in Ireland, complete with socially affordable housing, surrounded by million dollar condos without concern for the surrounding area's complaints.
First, we need to explore his celebrity. When I was younger, I loved Bono. As a then-Christian, Bono said all the right things and couched them in the cadence of Scripture. My ministers loved him. At the behest of my minister, I even read Bono's introduction to Jeffrey Saches (flawed) End of Poverty, hoping that Bono and his rock star professor could solve the problems of the world, just as he could climb the pop charts. They can't.
Like his song "Stuck on A Moment," many are stuck on Bono's perceived goodness. (Indeed, his very stage name comes from latin: Bono means "good". Bono cultivates this cult of celebrity by encouraging his followers to dream big. And who doesn't want to dream big? He meets with heads of state and academics who share his capacity for imagination. The Boston Globe reported that he even met with bankers at Mortgage Bankers Association, who, smitten with him, promptly forgot subprime mortgage concerns as Bono waxed elegant about the plight of Ethiopians.
Bono thinks grand because he suffers from grandeur. He established Edun, a high end clothing line sewn in developing nations. His Inspi(RED) campaign purports to tackle the scourge of A.I.D.S. with mass consumption. (Just how exactly it can make that claim, when it spends $100 million on advertising and brings in $18 million, remains a source of contention, according to Advertising Age.) He advocates debt relief for Liberia - $800 million from the IMF, $4.5 billion all told - in front of the International Monetary Fund. He even wants to build the tallest tower in Ireland, complete with socially affordable housing, surrounded by million dollar condos without concern for the surrounding area's complaints.
Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 12
chromeplatedmachine
allan pearson
posted 11/07/07 @ 12:30 AM PST
biased, venomous, and absolutely terrible
this writer ought to be banned if the newsmag wants to retain its integrity
Aditya Bindal
posted 11/08/07 @ 8:19 AM PST
Well, I wonder who is biased: the author who presents a logical and clear flow of arguments based on solid evidence, or the post which shouts out without any backing, purely acting on emotional basis (like our Irish friend, perhaps?)
Also, keep in mind that the author has not touched upon several other criticisms of Bono. (Continued…)
Charles Johnson
posted 11/08/07 @ 1:21 PM PST
Typical. Ban a writer? Shame on you, Mr. Pearson. Shame on you. Address the substance, if you can.
Simon Ruf
posted 12/02/07 @ 7:40 AM PST
This article is horribly bad researched. While you state that "Ireland [is] one of the poorest developed nations in the world" quite the opposite is true. (Continued…)
Charles Johnson
posted 12/06/07 @ 4:46 PM PST
Thank you, Mr. Ruf. You are quite right. After years of flawed, Socialist taxation policies, Ireland has made the right decision and moved towards fair and flat taxation. (Continued…)
Muhammad
posted 2/14/08 @ 9:03 PM PST
Why cannot someone, like Bono, choose to exercise his efforts however he sees fit. You argue that the Red Campaign has brought in less money than Bono spent developing it, but maybe the campaign is about more than money. (Continued…)
Debt relief
posted 4/15/08 @ 12:54 PM PST
Well he is a great man and he also has reasons to be considered that way. I appreciate all the efforts, there are many people who should learn for him. (Continued…)
jake Richardson
posted 5/12/08 @ 2:56 PM PST
While I agree wholeheartedly that the plans Bono makes may not be quite as economically sound as we at CMC may wish, why on earth would you criticize a man who steps out of the mold of self involved rock frontman to become, at worst, a self involved large scale philanthropist? I sat next to you all semester in Economics while you spoke with your holier-than-thou tone about what you knew to be economic truth. (Continued…)
Charles Johnson
posted 5/13/08 @ 8:49 PM PST
Mr. Richardson,
I think the person you wanted to send this is Charles Sprague. I am that inhuman "red head" who he debated.
I wonder if you actually read the article as I never made some of the points you are making. (Continued…)
Storm
posted 5/26/08 @ 8:05 AM PST
Maybe his plans aren't the most concrete, but he's able to raise awareness - he's motivated a bunch of high-schoolers (me included) to take a look at ourselves and how we spend our money - and I for one, think that's a good thing. (Continued…)
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