The History of American Foreign Aid

By Armando Simón

How did American foreign aid happen? Simple. Europe was in total ruins after WW II. Many cities’ structures, including homes, did not even have roofs. The Marshall Plan infused an unprecedented gargantuan amount of money to rebuild the continent (the offer was even extended to Eastern Europe, but Stalin refused). In just a few years, the continent was up and running again (the Germans called it The German Miracle, as if they were solely responsible for their reconstruction). Few Europeans today acknowledge the help given by America and even fewer are grateful. And such was the pace of rebuilding Germany, and such was the shortage of manpower after the war, that “temporary guest workers” (Muslims) from Turkey began arriving; the “temporary” guests became permanent and today are a cancer in German society (assurance from governments that something abnormal is “temporary” often ends up being permanent).

Aid was even expanded to include European countries that had not been touched by the war at all.

Foreign aid began to expand in the Cold War (remember Care packages?) for three reasons. First, there was the mistaken belief that poverty results in Communist uprisings. Actually, the complete opposite is true. Communist movements are always the result of middle class intellectuals hungry for power. Although Marxism predicts that the proletariat will rise against capitalism, past history shows that every single Communist leader has not been a peasant and has not been a factory worker. Someone should have read Eric Hoffer.

The second reason is that foreign aid became a bureaucracy. It is in the nature of all bureaucracies—educational, military, business, governmental—to expand. Like a cancer. To cite just one example, when the March of Dimes was created, its original purpose was to find a cure for poliomyelitis. When that goal was reached in the 1950s, the bureaucracy did not dissolve itself. Instead, it continued to exist by targeting other diseases.

It is also a core principle of bureaucracies, or rather branches of bureaucracies, to yearly request additional funds, conjuring up all sorts of necessities for those additional funds, the core belief being that if more funds are not asked for, then cuts will follow. Lastly, in many bureaucracies one will find certain managers with the goal of “empire building.”

The third reason for expansion is the laudable, and at the same time incurable American desire to help other people—traditionally other Americans but now extended to the world. Americans like to help others, but this has become an addiction. It is worsened by another unfortunate American characteristic, which is a desire to be liked by foreigners. Helping countries that have suffered natural catastrophes or invasions has never catalyzed into permanent gratitude—just look at France, look at Iran, look at Cuba. The media has been very efficient at exploiting this liability in Americans, whether a political oppression or environmental catastrophe (“While the world does nothing,” “What would you like to say to Americans?” and especially showcasing children in distress). It began with the yellow press, culminating in the Spanish-American War. Note that this weakness does not exist in other countries (yes, other countries do send foreign aid, mainly because the US government coerces them).

And fourth is the height of ironies. After the Soviet Union collapsed and the people opted for democracy, American Communists went to work for the American government. While there, they have engaged in interference in other countries’ elections and aid disbursement, making sure that leftist groups and leftist political parties receive substantial amounts. They have also pledged to sabotage policies that go against their totalitarian ideology (James Okeefe uncovered several; unfortunately, I regret some of his reported stings have disappeared from my trove of data. Much like Trump, Okeefe has been under constant lawfare attacks).

So that is how we find ourselves in the near bankruptcy state that we are in.

Armando Simón is a retired psychologist and historian, author of A Cuban from Kansas, The U, and When Evolution Stops.