Poverty and Global Inequality
The Extent of Poverty in America
• United States vs. Other industrialized nations
– Relative poverty- not being able to afford what is
considered normal in a given society
– Absolute poverty- inability to afford the basic
necessities of living
• 1990’s: U.S. vs. other industrialized nations-Absolute
poverty
The Extent of Poverty in America
• Poverty Threshold
– Why are many social scientists critical of the
official poverty threshold/poverty line?
– Why have government officials long resisted
efforts to change this threshold?
The Extent of Poverty in America
• Deep Poverty
• The Homeless
– The “new homeless”
Poverty
• Age• Sex– Feminization of poverty?
• Family Structure– Why do other industrialized nations have lower
rates of poverty for female headed families?
• Education
• Race
Poverty-Why?
• Why does U.S. have such high rates compared
to other industrialized nations?
• Why do most Americans tolerate such high
levels of inequality and poverty? What
are general
explanations for
poverty?
Poverty and Critical Constructionism
• Popular constructions of poverty and
explaining poverty
– Too generous with welfare
– The American dream and opportunity
• Fosters contempt for the poor
• What other myths and stereotypes exist about the poor
in America?
Causes of Poverty
• Deficiency vs. Structural theories
– Deficiency Theories
1. Innate Inferiority
2. Cultural Inferiority
– Structural Theories
1. Institutional Discrimination
2. Political Economy of Society
Solutions to Poverty
• What are some realistic approaches to
decreasing or even eliminating poverty in the
United States?
• What obstacles stand in the way?
Welfare vs. Wealthfare
• Tax deductions to corporations and rich
families are wealthfare
– $125 billion in corporate welfare annually
– Tax privileges to wealthy
Global Inequality
Part 2 of lecture/discussion
Heiner pgs 59-69
???
• Is there a difference in the poverty seen in the
U.S. and that of developing countries?
• Why are some countries considered rich while
others very poor?
• Would you ever consider eating dirt?
Extent of Global Poverty
• Half of developing world live on less than $2 a
day (2 billion people) and ¼ live in extreme
poverty (less than $1.25 per day)
– Sub-Saharan Africa
– Tremendous inequality between nations and
within nations-The richest 1 percent in the world
own 40% of global household wealth; the richest
2% own more than half of global wealth; and the
richest 10% own 85% of total global wealth.
The Global Divide
• Disparities in life chances throughout world
are extreme
• Divides in global wealth distribution are
relatively new
– When did vast divisions in wealth of nations really
begin?
The Legacy of Colonialism
Forces responsible for domination of economy by
rich nations
– Colonialism: when foreign power
maintains political, social, economic,
and cultural domination over people
for an extended period
• Wealth extraction
– Natural resources
– Labor extraction through enslavement
• Does labor in third world countries continue
to be extracted?
• Has labor extraction (outsourcing of American
jobs) benefitted third world countries?
• Who benefits? The people of these countries?
Americans consumers?
Multinational Corporations
• Multinational corporations: commercial
organizations headquartered in one country
but who do business throughout the world
Table 10-1: Multinational Corporations
Compared to Nations
Notes: Total is an oil, petroleum, and chemical company. UAE refers to United Arab Emirates. Where two nations are listed,
the country with the larger GDP is listed first. Revenues as tabulated by Fortune are for 2004. GDP as collected by the World
Bank are for 2003.
Sources: For corporate data, Fortune 2005:119; for GDP data, World Bank 2005a:202–204.
The New Slavery
• Estimated 27 million slaves in the world today
• Extreme poverty sometimes forces people into
slavery.
– Prostitution, domestic workers, plantation workers are
examples
– International traffic in slavery
Solutions to Global Inequalities
What are some realistic solutions to global
inequalities?
What can everyday Americans do?