Poverty: October 2004 Archives

by Garda Ghista

Introduction
The ‘paradox’ of Bengal, or Bangladesh, is that on the one hand it has immense geographical, geological, agricultural resources and hence potentiality for development into a (so-called) first world nation. However, despite these abundant resources, it has remained in abject poverty, or to use the term of Paul Farmer, ‘dire affliction.’ Bangladesh has a population of 133 million people, but the plight of the majority is heart-rending. Ten percent of the people own more than 60 percent of the land. Sixty percent of the people own less than ten percent of the land. Illiteracy is nearly 40 percent. Infant mortality is 80/1000. More than 50 percent of the people are landless. These landless people survive as sharecroppers or worse, as daily wage laborers, with men earning 33 cents daily and women 20 cents. Hence for the majority, at least one of the five necessities of life (food, clothing, shelter, health care and education) are missing. In macro-economics, this is defined as absolute poverty.

by Anup Shah

Debt is an efficient tool. It ensures access to other peoples' raw materials and infrastructure on the cheapest possible terms. Dozens of countries must compete for shrinking export markets and can export only a limited range of products because of Northern protectionism and their lack of cash to invest in diversification. Market saturation ensues, reducing exporters' income to a bare minimum while the North enjoys huge savings. The IMF cannot seem to understand that investing in ... [a] healthy, well-fed, literate population ... is the most intelligent economic choice a country can make.