10/30/2017
According to this blistering diatribe from Hickel (Democracy As Death), an anthropology professor at the London School of Economics, there is little distinction between the old colonialism and the global aid offered by established economies to the developing world today. He aggressively questions the conventional wisdom that, by offering global aid, developed countries serve as benefactors to developing ones. Rather, argues Hickel, accepting World Bank and the International Monetary Fund loans reduces debtor nations to an indentured servitude comparable to the imperial yoke of old. Hostage to servicing the debt from such loans, nascent economies are hindered from the kinds of domestic investment that would provide a route out of poverty. Hickel’s clear-eyed debunking of the platitudes of international aid is refreshing and revolutionary. Americans and Western Europeans, he charges, have long ignored their countries’ complicity in assassinations of and coups against the leaders of developing nations who suggest defaulting on sovereign debt or nationalizing industry. Hickel also notes that, with the onset of global warming, developed economies are rapidly transforming the Earth into a death trap for rich and poor countries alike. His writing penetratingly explores those forces that perpetuate global inequality and shreds the notion that the fissure between rich and poor is anything other than intentional. (Feb.)
Sixty percent of humanity?some 4.3 billion people?live in debilitating poverty. The standard development narrative suggests that alleviating poverty in poor countries is a matter of getting the internal policies right, combined with aid from rich countries. But anthropologist Jason Hickel argues that this approach misses the broader political forces at play. Global poverty?and the growing divide between "developing" and "developed" countries?has to do with how the global economy has been designed over the course of five hundred years through conquest, colonialism, regime change, debt, and trade deals. Global inequality doesn't just exist; it has been created.
To close the divide, Dr. Hickel proposes dramatic action rooted in real justice: we must abolish debt burdens in the developing world; democratize the IMF, World Bank, and WTO; and institute a global minimum wage, among many other vital steps. Only then will we have a chance at a world built on equal footing.
1126570846
To close the divide, Dr. Hickel proposes dramatic action rooted in real justice: we must abolish debt burdens in the developing world; democratize the IMF, World Bank, and WTO; and institute a global minimum wage, among many other vital steps. Only then will we have a chance at a world built on equal footing.
The Divide: Global Inequality from Conquest to Free Markets
Sixty percent of humanity?some 4.3 billion people?live in debilitating poverty. The standard development narrative suggests that alleviating poverty in poor countries is a matter of getting the internal policies right, combined with aid from rich countries. But anthropologist Jason Hickel argues that this approach misses the broader political forces at play. Global poverty?and the growing divide between "developing" and "developed" countries?has to do with how the global economy has been designed over the course of five hundred years through conquest, colonialism, regime change, debt, and trade deals. Global inequality doesn't just exist; it has been created.
To close the divide, Dr. Hickel proposes dramatic action rooted in real justice: we must abolish debt burdens in the developing world; democratize the IMF, World Bank, and WTO; and institute a global minimum wage, among many other vital steps. Only then will we have a chance at a world built on equal footing.
To close the divide, Dr. Hickel proposes dramatic action rooted in real justice: we must abolish debt burdens in the developing world; democratize the IMF, World Bank, and WTO; and institute a global minimum wage, among many other vital steps. Only then will we have a chance at a world built on equal footing.
27.89
In Stock
5
1
The Divide: Global Inequality from Conquest to Free Markets
The Divide: Global Inequality from Conquest to Free Markets
FREE
with a B&N Audiobooks Subscription
Or Pay
$27.89
$29.99
27.89
In Stock
Editorial Reviews
Product Details
BN ID: | 2940170196746 |
---|---|
Publisher: | HighBridge Company |
Publication date: | 02/13/2018 |
Edition description: | Unabridged |
Videos
From the B&N Reads Blog