The Folk Song Army Sings Africa

Arnold Klings opens his commentary on the Live 8 concert with an homage. From The Folk Song Army Sings Africa:

"We are the Folk Song Army.
Everyone of us cares.
We all hate poverty, war, and injustice,
Unlike the rest of you squares."
— Tom Lehrer

Not much has changed:

Forty years ago, 'The Folk Song Army,' by singer-satirist Tom Lehrer, captured the smugness of Live 8 and the demonstrators at the G-8 summit. One self-described activist says that flying to Scotland, where the summit is meeting, 'shows you that people are passionate about ending poverty...' Unlike the rest of you squares.

His point:

In short, the Folk Song Army believes that redistribution will cure poverty. The squares believe that market institutions will cure poverty. Most of the emotion seems to be on the side of the Folk Song Army. Most of the evidence seems to be on the side of the squares.

Arnold Kling's "thoughts about how you can do your part":

1. The world is a complex place. The farther you are removed from a situation, the less likely that your intervention there will do good and the greater risk that it will cause harm. No matter how thoughtfully it is administered, long-distance aid will tend to be ineffective.
2. The easiest poverty to prevent is poverty that is close by. By developing useful skills and remaining employed, you can help keep yourself and your family out of poverty. That makes you less of a burden on the world than if you fly half way around the world to stage confrontations.
3. Learn to distinguish motives from consequences. A well-meaning policy can backfire. The seemingly cold-hearted impersonal market is enormously beneficial.
4. Poverty is not a simple problem. See What Causes Prosperity?
5. Remember that unlike the Folk Song Army of Tom Lehrer's song, you have no monopoly on good intentions. A morality play in which those who care crusade against those who are square makes for great theater. However, it is not a realistic basis for economic policy.