The Alms Race examines the sorry history of aid projects in Africa as a way to explore the charitable impulse. It asks the question, why do voluntary aid organizations perpetually repeat projects that fail to help the poor, and finds that the answer is that those projects are magically transformed into successes when viewed in terms of the benefits they bring to the donors. The book argues that the basic purpose of voluntary aid abroad is to extend the boundaries of the consumer society. This book set the stage for Affluence and Discontent.
The alms race: The impact of American voluntary aid abroad
