THE FLAT EARTH HYPOTHESIS Poverty, inequality and you
Today
What does it mean to be (globally) poor?
Globalisation and poverty
The development ladder
From poverty to inequality
To what extent… ….has globalisation, or global capitalism, been beneficial for the global poor? ….do we live in an increasingly ‘flat’ earth? And, what does this have to do with us?
From individual to collective
The predominant attitude of the young in Western societies is of increasing acceptance of individual expression – ‘be who you want to be’
This individualism has led to greater acceptance of, and rights for, minority identities and lifestyles
Conversely, the societal expression of individualism is consumerism and a resigned attitude to collective change
Over the next two weeks we will consider the social consequences of our individual actions, asking what capacity we have to enact change
What would it mean to be in poverty?
Constructing Poverty
Whilst poverty can often seem like a straightforward idea, it is the subject of considerable debate
The way in which we construct and measure these categories has a significant effect on our responses to material deprivation
Poverty tends be constructed as either absolute or relative
World Bank Resolution
“Absolute poverty is a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information. It depends not only on income but also on access to social services� World Bank, 1995
Measuring poverty
World Bank measurements of absolute poverty are based on ‘Purchasing Power Parity’ (PPP)
PPP measures the amount of money needed to purchase the same amount of goods in each country, expressed in US dollars
The World Bank defines extreme/absolute poverty as living on less than $1.25 a day (it had previously been US$1.08)
Measurements are carried out through ‘household’ surveys and the methodology has been strongly challenged
What would be the minimum basic needs be in London?
How much do you live on? 
Using the list of minimum needs you produced before, make a brief daily budget

Living in London, how much do you require to maintain your basic needs?
How would you live?
If your income was reduced to £.82 per day, or £5.64 per week, how would you live? Would
you have shelter?
Where
would you get your food and water?
If
you had no land, or no opportunity to find formal employment, how would you try to find income?
Good News! 
Whilst the majority of the world still suffer from material deprivation, there has been significant progress

As global sociologists, our question is how this trend has occurred and is it likely to continue
Poverty before modernity
For large periods of human history poverty was seen as both natural and inevitable Inevitable
because there were not enough resources for
everyone Natural because
those who experienced poverty were born into that condition and had no means to rise above it
With the ideals of modernity and the economic progress of the industrial revolution came the possibility that poverty could, and should, be overcome
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
The MDGs were set by the United Nations in 2000 to be achieved by 2015, with a baseline of 1990
Alone with the ‘Make Poverty History’ campaign, the MDGs symbolised a new approach to poverty
One of the eight goals was to ‘eradicate extreme poverty and hunger’, which has three measures: Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less than $1 a day Achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all, including women and young people Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger
Progress
Why? 
1.
2.

There are two competing explanations for this progress The expansion of capitalism based on neo-liberal principles Progress is extremely uneven and has been based on two extreme cases in China and India Both these perspectives acknowledge the benefits of scientific advances in public health and agriculture
The Flat Earth
Economic interconnectedness is one of the distinguishing features of globalisation and global capitalism
From the 1970s capitalism began to expand rapidly through trade and the ‘out-sourcing’ of employment
Intensified connections between distant localities vastly reduces differences in economic opportunity Communication technology has allowed for the trading of services Political changes in trade and technological changes in transportation have globalised manufacturing
These factors have brought a huge supply of labour into the global market, leading to a ‘convergence effect’ and the idea of a global development ladder
Globalising employment
Convergence Effect
The Development Ladder
The idea of a development ladder was popularised by Jeffery Sachs (one of the authors of the MDGs)
It suggests that climbing out of poverty is possible, but incrementally achieved through structural changes
Consequently, intensive manufacturing is just one step up the economic ladder
The development ladder relies on a globalised economy orientated towards trade
China’s Climb
By utilising its massive supply of labour, China was able to attract manufacturing investment
It transformed from a rural, agricultural, economy to an industrial power
As more work came to China, the country grew richer and more money was spent internally
This raised living standards and increased the possibilities for more investment and development
Eventually, labour costs rise and lost-cost work goes elsewhere
Is your phone good for the world, or just for you?
What would you like to ask?
Below the Sahara Desert
Sub-Saharan Poverty
The climate in parts of this region is particularly harsh, making it difficult to grow crops without technological intervention
Many areas lack access to ports for trade and fresh water for irrigation and health
Much of the area exists in a ‘poverty trap’ whereby public heath issues, a historical lack of infrastructure and education prevent them from climbing onto the ‘development ladder’
People spend too much of their money on survival rather than ‘investment’
Foreign investment is often low and the educated elite often migrate
Approximately 40% of African born scientists live in the OECD
That investment that does exist is often highly exploitative
What has this got to do with you?
With the advent of globalisation and the idea of an interconnectedness world, there was an increased focus on global poverty
We experience this interconnectedness through the media as well as through economic associations
This comes to imply that we are responsible for that poverty, often through charitable discourse
These discourses appeal to us as consumers who have the capacity to respond
Congratulations !
You have just won £1million… … but it all has to be given to charity Where will it go?
Charitable difficulties
Charity implies a choice rather than a moral obligation
It also takes away responsibility from Western citizens/nations – there is no sense that the winners of capitalism might be responsible
Charitable giving, and aid, can be a short term band-aid rather than being a long-term solution
Do the rich have a moral responsibility to help the poor?
Inequality for all 
Whilst global wealth has grown, inequality has expanded significantly during the same period

We in the West are also becoming affected by the same processes that are causing difficulties elsewhere
Relative poverty
Inequality creates relative poverty, which is a measured as a point ‘relative’ to others
In the UK this point is 60% of average income (less housing costs)
Inequality is also often measured by a ‘Gini Coefficient’ whereby 1= maximum inequality and 0 no inequality
Relative poverty and inequality and very abstract concepts, but are most strongly seen in social exclusion
Inequality for everyone
As Western low-skilled jobs have gone overseas, inequality has increased in the West
Neo-liberal restructuring has also had a massive effect
Conversely, whilst these jobs have gone to developing countries, wealth remains highly unequal within those countries
Developing nations are split between those who have benefited from development and those who remain rural and poor
Neo-liberal reforms have removed protections from vulnerable peoples
The poor may be less poor, but the very rich are much richer
Is global inequality a problem if people continue to move out of absolute poverty?
The Global Elite
If anything has become globalised it has been an elite class
Both capital, and capitalists, are able to move freely around the world, often owning multiple homes around the world
These bankers, investors and other elites have begun to live in a world quite divorced from the other 99%
Everything can be sourced privately in a ‘bubble’ cut off from regular social reality
This global elite is a noticeable feature of London life
The consequences of inequality
Inequality tends to produce greater tension between people, creating crime and decreasing social cohesion
There are also strong effects on health and life expectancies, including factors like obesity and teenage birth rates
Overall societal well-being tends to fall in societies with very high inequality
Next Week IT’S GETTING HOT IN HERE: CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE LIMITS TO EXPANSION
Readings
Cohen and Kennedy, Chapter 20
Group reading: McCright, A.M and Dunlap, R.E. (2011) The Politicization of Climate Change and Polarization in the American Public’s Views of Global Warming, 2001-2010. The Sociological Quarterly. pp.155–194 Starter question: Why do you believe, or not believe, in climate change? .
Definitions of Poverty
Poverty: United Nations United Nations: Fundamentally, poverty is a denial of choices and opportunities, a violation of human dignity. It means lack of basic capacity to participate effectively in society. It means not having enough to feed and clothe a family, not having a school or clinic to go to, not having the land on which to grow one’s food or a job to earn one’s living, not having access to credit. It means insecurity, powerlessness and exclusion of individuals, households and communities. It means susceptibility to violence, and it often implies living in marginal or fragile environments, without access to clean water or sanitation.
Poverty: World Bank World Bank: Poverty is pronounced deprivation in well-being, and comprises many dimensions. It includes low incomes and the inability to acquire the basic goods and services necessary for survival with dignity. Poverty also encompasses low levels of health and education, poor access to clean water and sanitation, inadequate physical security, lack of voice, and insufficient capacity and opportunity to better one’s life
Absolute Poverty
When the World Bank measures poverty, however, it refers to absolute poverty
Absolute, or extreme, poverty is an income measure that calculates the minimum income required to meet basic needs
The difficulty comes in measuring income and deciding what are basic needs (and how much they cost) in each location
Moreover, should basic needs include social elements, or take ownership of resources into account?
The limits of income
This measure assumes that the poor are labourers and does not take into account the benefits of having resources to reproduce themselves independently
As such the World Bank’s measurement implies that selling labour to be the only means for the poor to move out of poverty
Alternatively, the ‘capabilities’ approach created by Amartya Sen focuses on freedom of choice (agency) and the ability to use resources
This model is the basis for the United Nations’ ‘Human Development Index’
Human Development Index
The Human Development Index (HDI) measures:
Life expectancy
Education
Income
The HDI tends to be strongly correlated with per-capita income
Very High
High
Medium
Low
No Data