Sometimes, you resort to a stick (threats, disparagement, etc.) rather than a carrot, to get your friends to be more self-reliant and mature.
It makes them stronger and then you can apply your energies to other matters.
It makes them stronger and then you can apply your energies to other matters.
Yeah, no.
On the other hand, it is reasonable to argue that the alternative has been tried for decades and didn't work. Moreover, since the stakes have gotten so much higher with China's ascendency, it is worth the risk.
When you keep on giving money to a friend to help them, they never learn to stand on their own feet. It creates a dependency not of true friendship, but of subservience.