Poor countries are poor because they are integrated into the global economic system on unequal terms. But in reality it is a political problem: poverty doesn't just exist, it has been created. What is causing this growing divide? We are told that poverty is a natural phenomenon that can be fixed with aid. The richest eight people now control the same amount of wealth as the poorest half of the world combined. Some 1 billion live on less than $1 a day. Today 4.3 billion people, 60 per cent of the world's population, live on less than $5 per day. But is it true? Since 1960, the income gap between the North and South has roughly tripled in size. It's a comforting tale, and one that is endorsed by the world's most powerful governments and corporations. Summary: We have been told that development is working: that the global South is catching up to the North, that poverty has been cut in half over the past thirty years, and will be eradicated by 2030.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |