Although on occasions one feels Hickel is over simplifying the statistics, the overall argument is compelling.įor example, it becomes easier to demonstrate the reduction of global poverty when the International Poverty Line (IPL) is shifted. Statistics about global poverty, Hickel argues, are warped to make it seem like we are on the right track to eliminating poverty. However, we are shielded from this inconvenient truth by an elaborate PR campaign – what Hickel calls, the ‘good-news narrative’. In other words, poverty is a constructed phenomenon. Hickel argues that global poverty is a direct consequence of our own current neoliberal economic system, not, as some like to see it – a natural and unavoidable evil. His recent book, The Divide: A Brief Guide to Global Inequality and its Solutions, offers an eye-opening account of how our globalised economy is perpetuating inequality and destroying the environment. Jason Hickel is an anthropologist and de-growth activist. MSc Anthropology, Environment, and Development.
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