It overran, it was more of an Anglo-American event than the organisers cared to concede and the quality of the music was, to put it kindly, inconsistent. Yet despite the cacophony, the energy, enthusiasm and idealism associated with the Live 8 concerts held on Saturday, especially those in London and Philadelphia, were undeniable. The estimates for the size of the television audiences might well prove to be wildly excessive but the sheer sense of “something must be done” about Africa was palpable. The team led by Bob Geldof deserves congratulations for their ambitious enterprise and for focusing minds and attention on a profound challenge of a massive order.

Idealism about Africa is welcome; crass simplification, however, is not. An array of celebrities took to the stage between acts at Hyde Park and offered their own analysis of precisely why Africa might be paralysed by disease, hunger and poverty. In some cases their points were legitimate — for example, Bono’s observation that the many deaths from malaria that occur could be prevented with a modest additional sum of money and much more strategic thought. In other instances, nonetheless, the words were mere slogans and empty ones at that. They seemed to proceed from the assumption that Africa’s plight was either the deliberate consequence of a conspiracy by outsiders or, alternatively, the result of callous indifference from the rest of the world. Thus one pop “star” urged the world to ensure that the “invisible string pullers” pulled the necessary strings. In truth, what Africans need is something closer to Adam Smith’s invisible hand.

If history is any guide, the real risk for Live 8 is not that it will fail in its objectives but that it will succeed. If the G8 leaders agree to a substantial increase in direct aid and the widespread alleviation of debt, many of the “demands” issued by those who understandably aspire to “make poverty history” will have been satisfied. Yet no continent has received more financial assistance over the past three decades than Africa and there is precious little to show for it. Without fundamental change to the economic environment in which Africans operate and the political culture in which they live, idealism about Africa today is destined to end in disappointment tomorrow.

That complexity was hinted at by only a few of those who seized the microphone in London on Saturday and by none who spoke at the rally after the demonstration in Edinburgh on the same afternoon. All too often, Africa was held up as an example of the failure of market economics, or as evidence of its harsh dark side, when, in practice, the principal reason why Africa and Africans suffer so much when compared with the rest of the world is that they exist outside of the market system. This sad state of affairs is partly explained by immoral practices such as the Common Agricultural Policy. It is also the result of decisions taken by kleptomaniac politicians in Africa who abhor the accountability that market economies brings.

Those who meet in Scotland for the G8 conference this week should, therefore, be willing to listen to the message that there is a substantial constituency in the developed world that would like, in a vague but sincere fashion, to see life improved for Africans. They should not be distracted from their initial instincts that the best means to secure those noble ends are to promote free trade, free markets and free societies.