What’s good for the poor is good for America
Jeffrey Sachs on where Uncle Sam should be more generous, and why
ALTHOUGH its prosperity depends on a worldwide network of trade, finance and technology, the United States currently treats the rest of the world, and especially the developing world, as if it barely exists. Much of the poorer world is in turmoil, caught in a vicious circle of disease, poverty and political instability. Large-scale financial and scientific help from the rich nations is an investment worth making, not only for humanitarian reasons, but also because even remote countries in turmoil become outposts of disorder for the rest of the world. The biggest priority of next week's Genoa Summit should be for the rich countries, above all the United States, to get serious about contributing to global economic development.
This article appeared in the By Invitation section of the print edition under the headline “What’s good for the poor is good for America”
More from By Invitation

Bangladesh has achieved its second liberation, says Muhammad Yunus
The interim government’s new leader argues for releasing political prisoners and holding a free election

Margaret Hodge’s lessons from east London on countering the far right
Mainstream parties must win back white working-class voters by focusing on local issues, says the former Labour MP

The real winner of Venezuela’s election urges the regime to face facts
A peaceful transfer of power is still possible, says Edmundo González
Thailand’s thwarted election winner on the move to ban his party
Weaponising the courts to muzzle dissent will fail in the long run, says Pita Limjaroenrat
Keep the code behind AI open, say two entrepreneurs
Martin Casado and Ion Stoica argue that open-source models will power innovation without compromising security
Not all AI models should be freely available, argues a legal scholar
The more capable they are, the greater the risk of catastrophe, reckons Lawrence Lessig