November 20, 2009 | Read Time: 1 minute
Tim Ogden is challenging the thinking of two of the world’s most prominent donors — Bill and Melinda Gates.
As part of an effort to promote foreign aid, the Gateses describe themselves as “impatient optimists” — people who believe global-health programs have been successful but expect them to do more and be faster at eradicating diseases and such.
But Mr. Ogden, editor in chief of Philanthropy Action, says that if donors are too impatient, they run the risk of becoming cynical about what giving can achieve.
He recommends a “patient optimism” — “a view that combines the belief that change is possible with the belief that any significant transformation takes a great deal of time and effort.”
“Impatient optimists are like investors in subprime mortgages in 2007,” he writes. “They can be so blinded by the upside that they fail to do their due diligence. In the end, their impatience and pursuit of outsized returns fuels waste and disappointment. Patient optimists, by contrast, have lowered their expectations of any particular program or intervention but not their belief in a better world over the long term.”
What do you think of Mr. Ogden’s analysis? Would you describe yourself as a patient or impatient optimist? Click on the comment button to share your views.
