Musician Bono and singer Madonna are partially responsible for the deaths of probably 100,000 Africans, according to economist Ralph R. Reiland.
If a murderer uses a gun, the murderer, not the gun retailer, is responsible for the crime. Does this apply to Bono and Madonna? I dislike the idea they can help cause mass death and be legally innocent from a libertarian judicial perspective.
So the money raised in a concert unfortunately went to a bunch of psychopaths/politicians? I don’t see how Bono and Madonna are in ANY WAY responsible for any of those deaths. Are ignorant liberals morally liable for the poverty they cause by supporting the minimum wage and statist unions??? I think not. Same goes for Bono and Madonna. 100 000 deaths from foreign aid is even just a small matter. UN and WB policies have killed millions through environmental regulations like banning of DDT and debt enslavement.
As Tom Woods said at Mises University in 2009, if you’re a poor African country you get aid “every 10 years when rock musicians get together and write a special song for you.”
They should just be honest and dedicate the songs to the corrupt governments who will use the infusion to strengthen their parasitic rule over the starving masses, and the violient rebel militias that will rise in hopes of grabbing some of the loot.
Bono certainly has blood on his hands having called in the day for intervention in the Balkans.
Murder requires mens rea, and I don’t think Madonna or Bono really intend or envision the carnage their actions help cause. Negligent homicide might be more appropriate.
Then again… What if they recognise the possibility of their actions causing they great harm that they do, and yet they still reconcile themselves to their actions? That’s dolus eventualis…
Probably many of you don’t remember very well the Ethiopian famine but it was a very big media hit back at the time. Even the Soviet Union, which was directly responsible for arming and funding Menghistu, felt the need for a little PR and sent in military personel from the Warsaw Pact to vaccinate children, distribute food etc.
In this environment it was only natural pop music stars would jump aboard the bandwagon. Helping out people in need and get some TV coverage? That’s a win-win scenario! Perhaps some of them really believed they were out there “to make the world a better place”, perhaps others weren’t as selfless but it worked. If you were around at the time and not an infant or an hermit living in the woods Live Aid was on everybody’s lips. Even old men and women who had never heard of Spandau Ballet and George Michael were talking about it. That’s how big it was.
I cannot real equate Bob Geldof, Freddy Mercury, Tina Turner, Bob Dylan and the rest of the crew to mass murderers. There’s little doubt the money raised ended up in Menghistu’s and his cronies’ pockets (apparently even Bono has recognized this), but that’s what has always happened ever since we have started sending humanitarian aids to Africa. Even simple items like sacks of flour and rice end up lining up the pockets of tyrants and dictators.
The problem is not Bono’s overblown ego or Madonna’s unrelentless search for media coverage. The problem is that sending our money in Africa’s direction hasn’t done one tiny bit of good.
Ignorance does not exonerate you of being a part of the problem. They raised the money. They are a part of the problem.
I believe vicarious liability is the applicable legal concept.