That time Bono realized the free market and commerce help people more than the redistribution of money

It’s the Fourth of July, and (most) Americans are using the occasion to celebrate our great country and the blessings of liberty that we enjoy through the efforts and sacrifices of those who came before us.

It is also a good time to appreciate how the system of (mostly) free markets contributed to the constant improvement and growth of the U.S. and got us to the remarkable place we are now.

‘Actually, you know, you go to the developing world and jobs are the most dignifying thing that you could offer somebody. Because people have work, they can sort out their own problems.’

Enter an unlikely hero to our story: Bono, the lead singer of U2.

Now you might say, “Isn’t that the jerk who is anti-Trump?” Or you might ask, “Wait a minute, isn’t he the guy who goes around supporting left-wing causes?” And the answer to those questions is unfortunately yes and yes, respectively.

But what he also did was admit that he had been wrong about seeking liberal solutions to the problems of poverty when the free market was sitting there waiting to be employed. He made those comments in an interview with the New York Times in 2022.

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  Photo by Lionel Hahn/Getty Images

He said he had this epiphany while prancing about the globe trying to improve lives of our fellow human beings through his activism.

“I ended up as an activist in a very different place from where I started. I thought that if we just redistributed resources, then we could solve every problem. I now know that’s not true,” Bono said in the interview.

“There’s a funny moment when you realize that as an activist: The off-ramp out of extreme poverty is, ugh, commerce, it’s entrepreneurial capitalism,” he explained. “I spend a lot of time in countries all over Africa, and they’re like, ‘Eh, we wouldn’t mind a little more globalization actually.’ I would point out that there has been a lot of progress over the years.”

Rather than excoriate business owners as evil and greedy like so many leftists are inclined to do, Bono says they are heroes who provide job opportunities.

“Capitalism is a wild beast. We need to tame it,” Bono said. “But globalization has brought more people out of poverty than any other -ism. If somebody comes to me with a better idea, I’ll sign up. I didn’t grow up to like the idea that we’ve made heroes out of businesspeople, but if you’re bringing jobs to a community and treating people well, then you are a hero. That’s where I’ve ended up.”

Although he still ended up badmouthing unbridled capitalism, he admitted that leftists could do more to alleviate poverty if they joined forced with people on the right, including church groups.

“[We have a] snobby attitude about business and big business. We sort of demonize it,” he continued. “And actually, you know, you go to the developing world, and jobs are the most dignifying thing that you could offer somebody. Because people have work, they can sort out their own problems.”

That is a pretty stunning admission for a left-wing activist to make.

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  Photo by Robin Marchant/Getty Images

Now that we’re in this rabbit hole, we might as well go a little deeper to 2013, when Bono had not yet realized the power of capitalism to free people, but he was still seeking “evidence-based” activism. This might have been the beginning of his epiphany.

In his TED talk about reducing poverty, he goes over some stunning statistics that are no doubt at least partly due to capitalism improving lives for decades.

Among those stats are the following, from 2013:

• There were eight countries that had their malaria death rates in Africa cut by 75%.
• There are 2.65 million fewer deaths of children under 5 per year. That’s 7,256 children saved each day.

“Wow! Let’s just stop for a second and think about that. Have you heard or read anything, anywhere in the last week that is remotely as important as that number? Wow! Great news,” he said. “It drives me nuts that most people don’t seem to know this news.”

• The number of people in back-breaking, soul-crushing poverty has declined from 43% to 33% over 10 years up until 2000.
• That same number fell to 21% by 2010 globally.

“Halved! Now, the rate is still too high, still too many people, still too many people unnecessarily losing their lives. There’s still work to do, but it’s heart-stopping!” he added. “It’s mind-blowing stuff!”

Even then he touted a little too much the triumph of science, reason, and facts to stamp out inequality, you can see the seeds of his eventual surrender to commerce and the free market allowing people to solve their own problems.

It’s worth watching, and it’s only 13 minutes long.

And after all that, if you can’t muster a twinge of respect for Bono for admitting his liberal mistakes, well, at least we can all accept that “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” was a pretty nifty U2 song. 

No? OK how about his quote about Che Guevara from the NYT interview then:

“I still don’t like Che Guevara T-shirts. [Expletive] Che Guevara,” said Bono.

Enjoy your freedom and the countless institutions that support your prosperity.

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