/100-38_files/100-3800001im.jpg" width="712"
height="1044" useMap="#Map">
International
Relations-PSC 201
VU
LESSON
38
THE
GLOBAL DIVIDE
The
difference in per capita income between
the world's poorest and richest countries
has more than
doubled
over the last 25
years.
According
to UN estimates, merely 3% of the annual
increase in the world's wealth is needed to
eradicate
poverty.
Yet developed countries have
been hesitating to meet
pledges made two decades
ago to devote
0.7%
of the value of their annual
GDP to aid for poorer
nations.
World
Social Forum
World
Social Forum was formed in
2001 by a coalition of Brazilian trade
unions, charities and
left-wing
political
and environmental groups.
Over the past four years, it
has expanded into a loose
coalition of such
organizations
from around the world. Instead of
believing that big business
can change the world for
the
better,
the World Social Forum
demands that both the corporations
and the governments of rich
countries
must
change the way that they
deal with the people and nations of the
developing world.
The
World Social Form considers
economic forces, if left
unchecked, often contributes to
the
marginalization
of the weakest. Often described as a
`Carnival of the Oppressed', the World
Social Forum
puts
forth suggestions to fight
poverty, disease and
environmental damage and it
hopes to replace the
prevailing
inequities of globalization by a fairer, healthier,
cleaner version of global trade in
which poorer
countries
have better opportunities to
grow.
Can
the Global Divide Be
Bridged?
Conventional
economic wisdom maintains
that an average annual
growth rate of about 7% is enough
to
alleviate
poverty in developing countries.
But
even if some countries like
China or India can actually
achieve such growth, it is
unlikely that all
developing
countries would be able to
grow this much without completely
depleting the already strained
natural
resource reserves of the planet.
Even
economically, the gap between worldwide
savings and necessary
investments is simply too wide to
achieve
so much global growth anytime in the
near future. Of course,
economic growth is important
for
reducing
poverty, but growth itself
does not guarantee equity.
To ensure equity it is essential to look
at how
the
benefits of growth are distributed
not just within but
also between
countries.
Relevant
Vocabulary
Equity
just or equal
outcomes
Inequality
lack of equality or divide between the
haves and have
nots
Conventional
traditional
Coalition
alliance or union
Suggested
Readings
Students
are advised to visit the
following web-pages for this
lecture, which provide
useful and interesting
information:
The
Digital Divide
www.globalpolicy.org/globaliz/define/davos.htm
Bridging
the Global Divide
observer.guardian.co.uk/
global/story/0,10786,591598,00.html