The Problem of World Poverty
This is the first section of the rough draft of my paper, part of a philosophical research project undertaken this summer to determine the extent of our obligations towards the poor worldwide. In light of these facts, what do you think our obligations to end poverty are? (That's not a rhetorical question; I'd love to discuss any or all of these points with anyone who's interested.)
Additional notes and citations appear at the bottom of this post.
1. The Problem of Poverty
More than three billion people, almost half the world’s population, live below the World Bank’s poverty line of $2.50 US per capita consumption per day. The poorest half of the world’s adults hold 1.1% of global wealth1. The extremely poor, those living under $1 US per day, number one billion 2 and die at a rate of 18 million a year3. One billion human beings are chronically undernourished, 2.5 billion lack access to proper sanitation and 2 billion lack access to essential drugs. This leaves them vulnerable to and unable to treat diseases like malaria, pneumonia, tuberculosis, diarrhea, childhood illnesses, and AIDS. They lack the savings and resources to cushion misfortunes caused by natural disasters, civil war, or accidents. There are 218 million child laborers in the world, 8 million of them working as slaves or bonded laborers, child soldiers, or prostitutes4.
Those living in these appalling* circumstances are unable to escape them; with barely enough income to survive on, they are unable to save or invest, to maintain necessary infrastructure or capital for economic growth, or to compensate for disadvantages caused by poor and worsening climate, cultural barriers against race, religion, or sex, and international trade sanctions5. This is what development expert Jeffery Sachs calls a poverty trap: the state of extreme poverty itself leaves the poor unable to achieve economic growth without outside help.
Despite this, it is possible for the severe poverty that is the normal state of half of humanity to be ended. The collective shortfall of the 3 billion people living below the poverty line is only 2% of global household income, of which the top decile (tenth) of the world population earns 71.1%. As it is, 0.33% of US Gross National Income is committed to official development aid, out of a promised 0.7% 6. Those who believe it is the responsibility of the poor to raise themselves out of poverty will be gratified to know that remittances earned by foreign workers in developed countries and sent home amount to three times as much as foreign aid7.
1. Politics as Usual, Thomas Pogge, page 13
2. The End of Poverty, Jeffery Sachs, page 19
3. Politics as Usual, 11
4. Freedom from Poverty as a Human Right, edited by Thomas Pogge, page 13.
*I debated using an emotionally charged adjective here, but in the previous paragraph I just mentioned dying of diarrhea and living as a child prostitute, I think ‘appalling’ is an acceptable word choice.
5. The End of Poverty pages 57-61
6. Freedom from Poverty as a Human Right, page 27. To rephrase, this is one-third of one percent out of a promised seven-tenths of one percent.
Poverty.com offers this template (http://www.poverty.com/printletter.html) for a letter to your government encouraging it to take concrete steps to reach the promised 0.7% aid goal.
7. Globalizing Justice, by Richard W. Miller, page 79.
Additional notes and citations appear at the bottom of this post.
1. The Problem of Poverty
More than three billion people, almost half the world’s population, live below the World Bank’s poverty line of $2.50 US per capita consumption per day. The poorest half of the world’s adults hold 1.1% of global wealth1. The extremely poor, those living under $1 US per day, number one billion 2 and die at a rate of 18 million a year3. One billion human beings are chronically undernourished, 2.5 billion lack access to proper sanitation and 2 billion lack access to essential drugs. This leaves them vulnerable to and unable to treat diseases like malaria, pneumonia, tuberculosis, diarrhea, childhood illnesses, and AIDS. They lack the savings and resources to cushion misfortunes caused by natural disasters, civil war, or accidents. There are 218 million child laborers in the world, 8 million of them working as slaves or bonded laborers, child soldiers, or prostitutes4.
Those living in these appalling* circumstances are unable to escape them; with barely enough income to survive on, they are unable to save or invest, to maintain necessary infrastructure or capital for economic growth, or to compensate for disadvantages caused by poor and worsening climate, cultural barriers against race, religion, or sex, and international trade sanctions5. This is what development expert Jeffery Sachs calls a poverty trap: the state of extreme poverty itself leaves the poor unable to achieve economic growth without outside help.
Despite this, it is possible for the severe poverty that is the normal state of half of humanity to be ended. The collective shortfall of the 3 billion people living below the poverty line is only 2% of global household income, of which the top decile (tenth) of the world population earns 71.1%. As it is, 0.33% of US Gross National Income is committed to official development aid, out of a promised 0.7% 6. Those who believe it is the responsibility of the poor to raise themselves out of poverty will be gratified to know that remittances earned by foreign workers in developed countries and sent home amount to three times as much as foreign aid7.
1. Politics as Usual, Thomas Pogge, page 13
2. The End of Poverty, Jeffery Sachs, page 19
3. Politics as Usual, 11
4. Freedom from Poverty as a Human Right, edited by Thomas Pogge, page 13.
*I debated using an emotionally charged adjective here, but in the previous paragraph I just mentioned dying of diarrhea and living as a child prostitute, I think ‘appalling’ is an acceptable word choice.
5. The End of Poverty pages 57-61
6. Freedom from Poverty as a Human Right, page 27. To rephrase, this is one-third of one percent out of a promised seven-tenths of one percent.
Poverty.com offers this template (http://www.poverty.com/printletter.html) for a letter to your government encouraging it to take concrete steps to reach the promised 0.7% aid goal.
7. Globalizing Justice, by Richard W. Miller, page 79.