Thursday, January 26, 2012

Why I couldn't be a journalist

Neil Reynolds is a good guy. A lifer in the world of journalism, he's in the twilight of his career and gets an occassional column in Canada's newspaper of record, which isn't any paper affiliated with Postmedia.

He spent a few years in the early '90's out east toiling for the Irving papers while I was toiling at the Irving Shipyard just across the harbor. (and although "toiling" may be too strong a word for my efforts at Saint John Shipbuilding, I like to think that Neil and I almost crossed paths in New Brunswick twenty years ago.)

A few days ago Neil had one of his irregular columns in the Globe entitled the little democracy that could, all about the success that democracy has made of Africa's wealthiest country, Mauritius.

Right away I hear the skeptics; Mauritius? Africa? Isn't Mauritius an island in the Indian Ocean a thousand miles offshore from Africa? Well, you're right, dear skeptic, but democracy works wonders both in economics and in geography.

The bigger problem I have with Reynolds' fluff piece is the claim that Mauritius is Africa's wealthiest country. Up until the NATO intervention the richest country in Africa was Libya.

Pre-NATO Libya beats Mauritius on every indicator of human well-being. Higher GDP per capita. Lower debt per capita. Longer life expectancy.

Neil knows all this. He's a smart guy. But he also knows that if he told the truth they wouldn't let him write a column in the national newspaper of record.

He'd be writing a blog.

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