[ FOREWORD | The End of Poverty ]
I can hear it already. Seeds of doubt are blossoming as you wonder which inane U2 fact I’m going to subtly reference, or what inspiring Paul Hewson sound bite I’ll infer as gospel. “It’s all been said before,” the thoughts spin in your head. “Does the world really need another article about Bono?”
Well, not if he’s writing them himself.
Those four, bold, red letters on the cover of The End of Poverty represent a man you either love, hate… or are largely indifferent about. Regardless of your thoughts on the matter, he must be a pretty big deal. Case in point, his name on the cover is exactly the same font size as author Jeffrey Sachs (yes, I used a ruler). Bono wrote three pages in this book. Sachs wrote the other 413. Pretty good deal if you ask me. There’s a lesson in there somewhere about working smarter…
You’ll find many take the moral high ground with such a blatant use of celebrity to promote a product. From a straight marketing perspective, piggy backing is smart. And, as we are coming to learn, smart marketers are the enemy of the educated consumer.
In most cases I’d be happy to join the celeb bashing. Give me five minutes and I’ll rip into all your heroes for going political, selling out, and stealing third world kids. However this time, I’m willing to let it slide. And not because I like Bono. Rather, if more people will buy a book about poverty alleviation because some Irish rocker with a messianic complex spits out a few hundred words in it, then why not?
First off, if people are just buying it for the foreword, they’re consumerist idiots, and secondly, some of these idiots may be drawn into a read which they otherwise would have disregarded. Besides, by the way Bono talks up Jeffrey Sachs in his treatise, you’d assume most readers would be at least a little interested in what the economist has to say. It’s a win-win situation, really.
So lay off Bono – it’s not his real name anyway.
Presently, 21 year old Elliot spends most of his time volunteering for 
1 Comment
24 November, 2007 at 9:51 pm
Hey Bro,
Nice to see you blogging about these issues. ‘End of Poverty’ is a great book. I’ve got some others I can recommend if you’re still keen when you’re done with it. It’s a good idea to read some material from non-economists who address poverty from a wider perspective than just economic growth (which definitely has it’s place). You may enjoy reading this address by the Minister of Home and Cultural Affairs in Bhutan.
http://www.gpiatlantic.org/conference/proceedings/thinley.htm
It describes why his country has adopted Gross Domestic Happiness (GDH) as a measure of wellbeing rather than GDP. It’s a fantastic read and one of the most astute commentaries on the failings of western culture I have ever read.