If the proportion of poor people in the world had doubled over the past 20 years, this would be cause for much handwringing and concern. Foreign-educated professors and left-wingers would write passionate articles against global neoliberalism which makes “the rich richer and the poor poorer.”
If the proportion of poor people in the world had doubled over the past 20 years, this would be cause for much handwringing and concern. Foreign-educated professors and left-wingers would write passionate articles against global neoliberalism which makes “the rich richer and the poor poorer.”
But, even if global poverty increased by just 0.5 percent, this would be a good opportunity to deplore the ills of capitalism. What happens, however, when reality contradicts theory? So much the worse for reality. It gets swept under the carpet.
This is exactly what happened to the World Bank’s report, which does not tell us whether the rich became richer but does present statistics proving that global poverty has been significantly diminished during this era of globalization.
According to the World Bank’s study, 40 percent of the world’s population had been living on less than a dollar a day in 1981, a rate that virtually halved in 2001, dropping to 21 percent. Translated into population figures, this means that there were 1.1 billion people living in poverty in 2001. Of course, these figures should not make us jump for joy, but they definitely indicate an improvement.
The report also reveals that the most significant drop in poverty rates occurred in regions of the world where bold measures had been implemented to liberalize the economy.
In China, for example, 17 percent of people live in absolute poverty as compared to 64 percent during the era of “real socialism.” Since 1981, the per capita income of the Chinese people has increased fivefold. Explosive economic growth, coupled with a subsequent drop in poverty, can be seen across all of Southeast Asia, which has embraced the principles of the free economy. Meanwhile, in sub-Saharan Africa, where there is no economic infrastructure, poverty has increased.
Hushing up such a piece of news (the fact that global poverty has virtually halved should top the news agenda) is not just a journalistic paradox. All news that highlights the progress of capitalism and the benefits of globalization has the same fate.
But this distorted outlook of the economy that the Greek media project has very real political and economic repercussions. And so any liberalization or privatization in Greece is presented as a disaster.
Of course, the above does not mean that the war against poverty is over. Despite the reduction in global poverty, 1.1 billion poor people are still too many. But a basic prerequisite for solving global poverty is describing the problem honestly.
KATHIMERINI English Edition, 15/12/2006
