June 2023: Random, Violence and Peace

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June 2023 → Subscribe to Monthly Updates

Random, Violence and Peace

written by Aurelie

It’s time to wrap up the month with two positive stories: first, we have just received a generous donation from GitHub; and secondly, we have implemented a truly unbiased way to select recipients.

Now let’s explore four questions that I’ve been pondering this June. Write me if you have an opinion one of them.

How do we select recipients?

This question will be much easier to answer in the future. We will simply be able to say that individuals from a pool of people living in poverty are unbiasedly selected at random. Thanks to the cryptographers Patrick and Yolan from Protocol Lab, who added plenty of math, code and transparency to this amazing tool. We’ll showcase it soon. Did I tell you that this protocol developed at the EPFL even went to space?

Violence needed to bring peace?

Why is it still the brutal reality that people are being killed during democratic elections? Is violence a necessary evil on the path to peace? I am not even talking about the “ritual murders” that have happened in the past. Our colleagues in Freetown say “it’s normal.” In short, the violence flared up just before President Julius Maada Bio got reelected. See what BBC and NYTimes say about it.

Does UBI work in the US?

Since I traveled to Sierra Leone three months ago and saw the impact of Social Income up close and personal, I am 100% convinced that universal basic income (UBI) is the most effective way to battle poverty. But what about the US? The new documentary “It’s Basic” follows the stories of people there who receive a UBI, just like our recipients in Sierra Leone.

Why do people think recipients buy drugs?

What do I find most disturbing about the political resistance against UBI projects? That it is often rooted in old, racist narratives, like “they’ll spend it on drugs.” Our friends at GiveDirectly call it Myth #1. Our own experience also says: No, they don’t. Here is why we should get rid of the prejudice, and how guaranteed income programs can help cities to survive and thrive.

My World in Data

Numbers that made me think

Stat of the month

$657 billion

While public international aid stood at $168 billion in 2019, personal remittances from migrants were nearly four times as high. These gifts, sent back by migrants to relatives or friends, amounted to a huge contribution by migrants as international development aid. In Sierra Leone, remittances make up over 5% of the GDP.

Survival of the richest

Oxfam proposes a global tax on wealth of about $5 million. According to the NGO, a tax of up to 5% on all the world’s multi-millionaires could raise $1.7 trillion a year, which is enough to lift 2 billion people out of poverty and fund a global plan to end hunger.

My World in News

Stories that made me wonder

• “​Potential benefits are just too large to ignore” was the motivation to start a UBI pilot for 30 people in England. (Guardian)
• GiveDirectly’s operations in DRC were suspended after alleged fraud of at least $900,000. (The New Humanitarian)
• ​​Africa and the Middle East are set to see the fastest growth in AI spending worldwide. (The Guardian)
• Analyzing the use of mobile phones has emerged as a promising solution to target households in extreme poverty. (MarkTechPost)

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