The meat of this is that China has moved it's poor upwards on average but the rest of the world is completely unchanged. A moronic article that fails to support its central thesis. All it does prove is that people in China are doing better.
For the first time ever, the number of poor people is declining everywhere
41–50 of 160 posts
Re: For the first time ever, the number of poor people is declining everywhere
#42[deleted]
Re: For the first time ever, the number of poor people is declining everywhere
#43Isn't this just a capitalist supporting publication trying to justify that which it supports? Poverty groups would, rightly, do the same thing. No criticism, but, well, they would wouldn't they? That's the way it is. Don't we all "big up" that which we believe in? Trouble is, every one has an agenda and its really hard to ever know the truth. I have no idea if this is self serving fantasy or reality.
There are two sides of reality: the poor and the rich. This fantasy makes the richer side feel better about the poor. Don't go asking the other way around.
Re: For the first time ever, the number of poor people is declining everywhere
#44Earlier quoted context omitted.
I see your point, but then isn't wealth always relative? If scarcity isn't used as a yard stick for money creation how can inflation be avoided?
Having enough to eat is having enough to eat: it doesn't matter if someone else eats in a fancy restaurant. Edit: status is relative - if everyone else has a Ferrari, and I only have a Fiat, I probably feel poorer. However, I still have a car that is better, faster, and safer than anything that existed 100 years ago. Edit#2: the above is one reason that worrying about what you have in an objective sense is a lot heal…
Doesn't totally answer my question, but thanks anyway.
Re: For the first time ever, the number of poor people is declining everywhere
#45I think it's called inflation
Re: For the first time ever, the number of poor people is declining everywhere
#46Indeed. Couple of optimistic talks at TED that shows that on an 'average' it IS getting better. http://www.ted.com/talks/steven_pinker_on_the_myth_of_violen... http://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_reveals_new_insights_o... However, the 24/7 news cycle drums up everything that is negative and hence most of "feel" that it is getting worse.
[deleted]
Yes, if they talk about avrage but it will say that one of the two eat eat 100% of the food too. Dont piss on statistics piss on specific a statistic.
Critisims like your are a reason its so hard to talk about this subject.
Re: For the first time ever, the number of poor people is declining everywhere
#47This is a tiny change. Almost half of the world still lives for less than $2.00 per day. Amazing that we can look at those statistics and think that there is significant progress or not be distressed by the inequality. If you honestly assess this fact that almost half live for less than $2.00 per day versus the "first world" consumption then you will come to the conclusion, as I have, that civilization is a myth. Thi…
The problem is that we don't have a real notion how to change it in a large scale, we allready pure tons of money into poor countries but it does not really help (alot of times it even hurts). Alot of people feel like you but nobody has an idea how to help. Do you?
I have a lot of ideas but to start, just the basic thing you are suggesting: 'pouring' 'tons' of money into poor countries.. this is just not the reality.
We won't be able to fix the problem if we can't see it. Most people are living in a false reality, a matrix reality created by the propaganda machine. The truth is that the first world exploits the second and third world and hogs the resources. These 'tons' of money are pittance. The US alone uses more oil than the next three or four countries combined. The second world barely even figures in.
Its very simple: the distribution of things is just quite unfair, deliberately so. Many countries are actively repressed. The World Bank provides loans as a mechanism of economic warfare or modern-day colonization. Again, a major problem is that many of the citizens of the first world aren't even aware of this.
So people in every country need accurate holistic information and to have an egalitarian perspective. The first part is not happening, as I mentioned. The second part is not the case either -- most everyone in the first world subscribe to a type of Social Darwinism which is just the latest rationale for brutal primitive classism.
Re: For the first time ever, the number of poor people is declining everywhere
#48I have been to Uganda a few years ago to work on a voluntary project. If you see numbers like the number of people living under $1 per day and you see the images on TV you come to think of people in Africa just as pitiful. However, I got the feeling that the people in Uganda are actually more happy than the people in Northern Europe. Maybe wealth is actually inversely correlated with happiness?
There is vast scientific evidence that 'happiness' is positively correlated with 'wealth' (both in quotes to indicate that they're broad concepts, I'm not interested in discussing specific definitions). The scientific history is broadly that in the 1970's, it was thought there was little correlation (the 'Easterlin paradox'), in the 1980's and 1990's it was thought there was correlation up to some point of wealth (e.g., income of 15k USD) and after that there was little to none, but in the last decade (with better data and more thought into the subject) even that doesn't seem to hold any more. (yes marginal utility decreases but aside from that).
So, in general, the empirical evidence points to 'more money = more happiness'.
The literature on this spans decades, a 'popular' paper of the last few years that references much of the historical papers and as such can serve as a starting point is [Stevenson & Wolfers, 2008] (http://bpp.wharton.upenn.edu/betseys/papers/Happiness.pdf).
(a quote in the 'community' on this topic nowadays is (although I haven't been able to verify a source for it): "the average Togolese man would be hospitalised for depression in Denmark.").
Re: For the first time ever, the number of poor people is declining everywhere
#49Earlier quoted context omitted.
Don't be so vague, say what you mean, back it up with evidence.
Like everything in capitalism, third world improvements is just an investment. The debt is due already for some nations and soon the next batch will follow the "debt settlement". Look around yourself in your country. Are people good enough there and no "occupy wall street" actions taking place? I know how the things are in the helped to be "developed" countries, and one from one of those.
Compared to 3rd world poverty even very severe banking and debt problems are nothing. Do you think people in, say, Greece 5 or 10 years from now will think their lives are no better than the average person living in, say, Malawi or Zambia?
Re: For the first time ever, the number of poor people is declining everywhere
#50Isn't this just a capitalist supporting publication trying to justify that which it supports? Poverty groups would, rightly, do the same thing. No criticism, but, well, they would wouldn't they? That's the way it is. Don't we all "big up" that which we believe in? Trouble is, every one has an agenda and its really hard to ever know the truth. I have no idea if this is self serving fantasy or reality.
Instead of ad hominem attacks, why don't you come with some data to support your accusations? The Economist is one of the last publications with a rigorous policy of publishing original data sources, in this case the World Bank, hardly the obscure special interest group you make it out to be.
If you want to offer alternative interpretations of the data, or point out specific methodological flaws, or whatever, by all means do so - but now you're just saying 'meh I don't like this guy's ideas, he must be a shill, but I guess we'll never know because nobody can know these things anyway' - the most toxic nihilistic and intellectually dishonest 'reasoning' imaginable.