Oct 2003: Pay for Peace?
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We are often exhorted to pray for peace. But how about the option of paying for peace? Specifically, consider the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This conflict is not just significant in the region, but in the entire world.
My proposal is to pay every Palestinian $10 for every week that no terrorist act occurs. Since there are about 3 million Palestinians, the cost of this problem will amount to about $30 million a week, or $1.5 billion per year.
This may sound like a lot of money. But actually, it is not large compared to the amount that Israel spends on defense per year. It is not large compared to the amount that Israel loses in tourism, and revenue, due to terrorism. If this plan worked, it would actually be a very good value for the money.
Some people may object to this plan on principle. “How can we pay terrorists for not committing terrorist acts?” Well, we certainly have a plan of negative incentives designed for discouraging terrorist attacks. So why can’t we have a plan of positive incentives?
You can doubt that the plan would work in practice. But it might. Just as it takes a village to raise a child, it also takes a village to raise a suicide bomber. Every time I see a Palestinians cheer and march after a suicide bomb attack, I realize that their society provides a positive incentive for suicide bombers. But what if every person in that crowd realizes that they have just lost $10? Would their emotions be different?
The sum of $10 does not sound like a lot to us. But for Palestinians, most of whom are unemployed, it’s quite a bit of money. So it’s a strong incentive for them to lay off the trigger. As a variation on the plan, we could increase the money as successive weeks without suicide bombings pass. Kind of like the lottery. Billboards around town would display the current rewards.
Another interesting aspect of the plan is that the money would go directly to the Palestinian people. It would not go to their corrupt government. With cash in their pockets, perhaps the Palestinians would question their leadership.
Will it work? I don’t know. But I am happy to donate some cash, just to give it a shot.