This comes from the book The active life by Parker J. Palmer (1990). The scarcity assumption pervades our institutional life by putting power into the hands of a few, and keeping it there. Hierarchies are always rooted in the belief that power itself is, or ought to be a scarce commodity, rooted in the belief that few people are qualified to hold power, or that few should be allowed to hold it, lest the threatening abundance of power known as "democracy" come to pass. From the teacher who grades on the cruve to the administrator who rules by fiat, the control of the few over the many is rationalized by the scarcity assumnption (p. 125).
How does this apply to tobacco control in Africa? We are told over and over there is no money or not enough money but since the Bloomberg and Gates foundations have decided to fund tobacco control, more than $26.5 millions have been so far distributed for projects claiming to concern Africa. Who decided who received what? Wasn't there enough for everybody? Now $18 more millions are announced. Who will decide who receives what? will the scarcity assumption prevail and the power of a few?
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