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The Global Poverty Dilemma

By Rupert Johnson

Poverty is not a recent phenomenon. It has been a global scourge for thousands of years, but its pandemic effects in today’s worldwide society is unprecedented. There is no doubt that poverty is spreading across the globe like wildfire.

With every passing day the once vibrant middle class is now rapidly disappearing. In this respect, Karl Marx is correct in saying that eventually the lower middle in particular will be pushed down to swell the burgeoning ranks of the poor working class. Marx further states that this trend will finally result in alienation and immiseration—an isolated state of misery and impoverishment.

It is quite clear that today’s world is divided into two economic camps—the very rich and the very poor. According to a recent finding by Oxfam, a very reputable international anti-poverty organization, 85 of the world’s richest people own and control as much economic wealth as the combined wealth of 3.5 billion of the world’s poorest people. That is half of our planet’s population. This objective finding is indeed mind-boggling. This is total inequality on a grand scale.

Inequality of this magnitude is buttressed by a U.N. Report that highlighted the fact that “the richest 1 percent of adults in the world own 40 percent of the planet’s wealth.” The Report also revealed that “Europe, the U.S., and Asian Pacific nations account for most of the extreme wealth.”

It is astounding that in an affluent country like the U.S. “almost 50 million people” are referred to as being poor. And according to a recent survey: “Four out of 5 (80%) of U.S. adults struggle with joblessness, near-poverty or reliance on welfare for at least parts of their lives; a sign of deteriorating economic security and an elusive American dream.”

But as bad as things are in America they pale in comparison with the economic affairs on the African continent. It is not difficult to see that the massive economic wealth of the African states is not distributed equitably. It is quite clear that whereas many African countries are extremely rich in mineral resources, the vast majority of people do not benefit from this massive wealth. It is also very evident that the corrupt political class and the complicit foreign investors are the only ones to bask in the economic sunshine.

According to a U.N. Report “nearly half the population in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country awash in diamonds, may not live to be 40 years of age” due to abject poverty. The Report also stated “that 75 percent of the population live below the poverty line—less than a dollar a day.”

It is worth repeating the words of Nelson Mandela, former President of South Africa. He said: “Massive poverty and obscene inequality are such terrible scourges of our times that they rank alongside slavery and apartheid as social evils.” He also said: “Where poverty exists there can be no freedom.” These are indeed profound words for it is clear that impoverished people do not have the freedom to make choices or exercise self-determination. Indeed, they cannot determine their own aspirations.

The remarkable finding by the U.N. and Oxfam about the global state of economic inequality should be enough to arouse the social consciousness of world leaders and wealthy people and spur them to take effective action. But will it be enough?

Rupert Johnson may be contacted at: r.b.johnson@sympatico.ca.

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