It is always refreshing to see journalists draw attention to the incredible decline in world poverty. An article that did just that appeared yesterday in the Christian Science Monitor. The piece shines a spotlight on three heartening facts in particular.

First, poverty is decreasing. Not only have poverty rates fallen, but the total number of people in poverty has decreased. This is incredible when one considers population growth—there are more people alive today who aren’t in poverty than ever before. The Brookings Institution projects poverty will be practically eliminated by 2030.

Second, average incomes are rising. World per capita GDP, adjusted for inflation and differences in the cost of living, has never been higher. And average income growth is not limited to developing countries: the average American has more disposable income left after basic expenses.

Finally, humanity is healthier. Globally, average life expectancy is at an all-time high, largely due to plummeting infant mortality rates. More people have enough to eat and enjoy access to clean drinking water and improved sanitation facilities. The developed world has also seen health gains, with cancer death rates falling for both men and women in the OECD countries.

The article attributes improvements in well-being to three main factors: the fall of communism, the rise of trade and globalization, and the courage of those who stood up against tyranny.




reference


https://humanprogress.org/article.php?p=168

Brendon wrote on Apr 8^th, 2019 at 6:42am:



indeed.

very industrious people who have patience and collaboration built into their DNA from generations of tending to their rice paddies.

arabs in the middle east with goats or africans with hunting or americans with ranching have aggression and competition built into their DNA because a neighbour can always steal your cows or goats (but he cant steal your rice paddy).

hence why china is a better model for a world that is at peace and the americans and the middle eastern goat herders or the mexican cowboys are always looking for a revenge attack

cods wrote on Apr 8^th, 2019 at 7:00am:



crook is super negative.
when you are supernegative, you cant recieve.

they did a study on taxi drivers in the USA.
they put facial pattern recognition software in the cab and examined how much of the time the cabbie was smiling and they recorded what sort of tips he recieved.

the cabbies who smiled the most recieved more in TIPS on some occasions then the sour cabbies recieved in TOTAL FARES.
its insane.

be negative if you want.
you wont hurt anyone but yourself
you cant recieve until you are positive.
its a law of the universe

Positivity has the ability to white wash the negativity.

Agreed. Globalism and the fight against injustice that ended communism is crucial. Reagan, Bush Senior and Clinton saw the good times in.

But, as far as communism is from the good times now, the iron curtain states were hugely effective in eradicating poverty. Crap pay, but housing, health care and food were all there.

Compare Cuba with the Philippines. You may not get a car or scooter in Cuba, but housing and health care are available. In the Philippines, most families are struggling to cover the health costs of their ageing parents. Get sick, and you're screwed.

I hate Soviet socialism. Conformist, patriotic, authoritarian. But no one can deny it did what it said. With the exception of party elites, it levelled people. Older Chinese have told me they look back fondly on the days of the Great Leap Forward. They felt a sense of shared purpose that doesn't exist in China today.

People want this. Capitalism can't provide it.

But yes, charity is no solution. It's good in times of crisis, but beyond that, forget it. Charity can get people back on their feet after a tsunami, for example, but it doesn't build the infrastructure they need.

Foreign aid's different. Here, aid is put into projects that furnish self interest - a road to a port that exports goods overseas in East Timor, for example. This is a win-win. The East Timorese get a road to take their goods to market, Australian companies get cheap commodities.

Woodside Petroleum, of course, gets cheap oil and gas. A win-win for, well, Alexander Downer and Woodside, but that's another story.

Charity most certainly doesn't stop poverty. I doubt the world will be poverty free by 2030, as your article says. You only need to see the slums of Manila or Mumbai to believe that.

This will change in 11 years? I don't see how.

aquascoot wrote on Apr 8^th, 2019 at 6:56am:


Good point, but the rice paddies are down in South East Asia. Most of China lives off wheat, a totally different method of farming.

But I agree about cooperation. East Asians are highly communal people. Getting along with your family neighbours is a fundamental value in communities that live so close together.

Northern China's quite different. There, people are descended more from nomads. They don't bow down to social norms and rules so easily.

In China today, people are moving into apartment complexes in the cities. Village life is largely gone. People are changing because of this.

aquascoot wrote on Apr 8^th, 2019 at 8:27am:


Indeed. And this is the society globalisation preaches. A consumer society centred around the shopping mall. Cars, freeways, apartment blocks and office jobs - a government job even better. This is the middle class dream in China and India.

Communism is about promoting the rural values you espouse, Aquascoot. Capitalism is about the durp state.

You're a communist, dear.

Not at all. Communism was held by Marx to be the values you espouse. Socialism was just a means to get there.

The Soviets never reached the stage of communism - it was always just around the corner.