I was not aware of George MacDonald, I look forward to reading some of his short stories. How did you discover him?

This is an interesting article, especially the part where he lauds the Chinese system. I wonder why we don't encourage more countries to adopt it? Oh wait, we've spent the last almost 100 years fighting against exactly this type of government.

Also interesting that he fails to mention that almost 25% of Haiti's total GDP went to paying down on World Bank and IMF loans. You think these priority payments (meaning they had to be paid before the money could be used anywhere else) could have better went toward building earthquake-resistant buildings for example? This is especially poignant when you realize the majority of the money that was loaned out by theses institutions never reached the ground in Haiti, instead being funneled into foreign bank accounts in the name of corrupt leaders.

Brooks also fails to take into account the inherit selection bias in both the Harlem Children’s Zone and the No Excuses schools; meaning parents who chose to enroll their children in these programs already care about their child's education, and therefore would do well in almost any situation they were put in because they are willing to put in the time necessary.

It's also ironic that he chooses Barbados, a country with a population of less than a million and therefore able to support itself solely through the tourism industry, to compare with Haiti, a country with a population of almost 10 million people. Comparing apples to oranges, isn't it? He plays up the DR as being a golden alternative, but what he doesn't say is that there are similar populations, but Haiti takes up 1/3 of the island while the DR has the other 2/3. The difference basically comes down to the DR having a stable government for the last 20 years, allowing them to develop a tourism industry.