Bad Air

During a discussion about malaria, Bill Gates released some mosquitoes at a conference saying "there is no reason only poor people should be infected."*

The audience was not really in danger, of course. Now I favor fighting malaria, but not this sort of stunt. An organizer of the conference said the moment "provided the audience with food for thought." I'm sure it did--If I'd been at the conference it might have made me think I should join a different organization.

More troubling was Gates' argument: 'The market does not drive scientists, thinkers, or governments to do the right things. Only by paying attention and making people care can we make as much progress as we need to."

Perhaps. Or perhaps this is the kind of thinking that helps malaria spread. First, the reason we know how to fight malaria is due to work done in countries with market economies--great places for scientific research. Second, the wealth he wants us to use to fight malaria was created by the same market he has so much trouble with. Third, perhaps helping troubled countries set up a market economy that gives them greater wealth would also give them the tools to fight malaria, and a lot of other problems that afflict them.

*This is actually the kind of solution you often see: a program that doesn't necessarily help the poor, but at least hurts the rich.