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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
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| The big inequality debate: can our system work for richer and for poorer? | The big inequality debate: can our system work for richer and for poorer? |
| (12 days later) | |
| More than two centuries after Adam Smith wrote The Wealth of Nations, the notion that greed is good and wealth once gained by the few will trickle down to the many seems to have come undone. | More than two centuries after Adam Smith wrote The Wealth of Nations, the notion that greed is good and wealth once gained by the few will trickle down to the many seems to have come undone. |
| Rather than shrinking as a result of economic growth, income inequality is rising and the evidence is bleak. According to Oxfam, seven out of ten people live in countries where inequality has increased in the last 30 years. In a report published at the start of the year, the charity showed that the richest 85 people in the world have the same wealth as the bottom half of the world’s population. The charity projects that based on current trends, the best-off 1% will own more than the 99% by 2016. So where does that leave the new global development agenda, also due to start in 2016? | Rather than shrinking as a result of economic growth, income inequality is rising and the evidence is bleak. According to Oxfam, seven out of ten people live in countries where inequality has increased in the last 30 years. In a report published at the start of the year, the charity showed that the richest 85 people in the world have the same wealth as the bottom half of the world’s population. The charity projects that based on current trends, the best-off 1% will own more than the 99% by 2016. So where does that leave the new global development agenda, also due to start in 2016? |
| It is widely believed that the precursor to the sustainable development goals (SDGs) – the millennium development goals – succeeded in cutting global poverty in half, but even that claim is now being disputed. Jason Hickel, an anthropologist at the London School of Economic, argues that “the numbers have been furtively manipulated to make it seem as though our economic system is working for the majority of humanity when in fact it is not.” And that system, built for the few, could threaten all the targets set out in the SDGs. | It is widely believed that the precursor to the sustainable development goals (SDGs) – the millennium development goals – succeeded in cutting global poverty in half, but even that claim is now being disputed. Jason Hickel, an anthropologist at the London School of Economic, argues that “the numbers have been furtively manipulated to make it seem as though our economic system is working for the majority of humanity when in fact it is not.” And that system, built for the few, could threaten all the targets set out in the SDGs. |
| In Outlook on the Global Agenda 2014, the World Economic Forum ranked “widening income disparities” as the second most important trend facing the world. “Widening wealth disparity affects every part of our lives,” the report said. “It’s impacting social stability within countries and threatening security on a global scale ... it is essential that we devise innovative solutions to the causes and consequences of a world becoming ever more unequal.” | In Outlook on the Global Agenda 2014, the World Economic Forum ranked “widening income disparities” as the second most important trend facing the world. “Widening wealth disparity affects every part of our lives,” the report said. “It’s impacting social stability within countries and threatening security on a global scale ... it is essential that we devise innovative solutions to the causes and consequences of a world becoming ever more unequal.” |
| What could these solutions look like? The economist Jeff Sachs has called for a new age of sustainable development which, he argues, “tightly links the human-made world of economics and politics with the natural world of climate and biodiversity and with the designed world of 21st century technology”. Are corporations, governments and civil society willing and able to adopt this vision and do what it takes to tackle inequality? Join our online debate on Thursday 9 April, at 1pm BST, to share your views. | What could these solutions look like? The economist Jeff Sachs has called for a new age of sustainable development which, he argues, “tightly links the human-made world of economics and politics with the natural world of climate and biodiversity and with the designed world of 21st century technology”. Are corporations, governments and civil society willing and able to adopt this vision and do what it takes to tackle inequality? Join our online debate on Thursday 9 April, at 1pm BST, to share your views. |
| The panel | The panel |
| Ahmed Swapan Mahmud, executive director, Voice, Dhaka, BangladeshAhmed is founder of this rights-based organisation which campaigns mainly on food sovereignty, aid effectiveness and economic justice. He is also a member of the executive committee of Beyond 2015. | Ahmed Swapan Mahmud, executive director, Voice, Dhaka, BangladeshAhmed is founder of this rights-based organisation which campaigns mainly on food sovereignty, aid effectiveness and economic justice. He is also a member of the executive committee of Beyond 2015. |
| Minh-Thu Pham, senior policy director, United Nations Foundation, New York, USA. @M2PhamMinh-Thu has served in the executive office of the secretary-general for both Kofi Annan and Ban Ki-moon and now leads the foundation’s post-2015 initiative. She also teaches international policymaking at Princeton University. | Minh-Thu Pham, senior policy director, United Nations Foundation, New York, USA. @M2PhamMinh-Thu has served in the executive office of the secretary-general for both Kofi Annan and Ban Ki-moon and now leads the foundation’s post-2015 initiative. She also teaches international policymaking at Princeton University. |
| Jason Hickel, anthropologist, London School of Economics, Johannesburg, South Africa. @jasonhickelOriginally from Swaziland, Jason specialises in democracy, violence and globalisation and has written for the Network about why economic growth and GDP is an inadequate tool to reduce inequality. | |
| Gary Stevenson, wealth inequality economist, London, UKGary is a former interest-rate trader now researching and publicising the economic consequences of wealth inequality | Gary Stevenson, wealth inequality economist, London, UKGary is a former interest-rate trader now researching and publicising the economic consequences of wealth inequality |
| Trevor Ngwane, national secretary, Democratic Left Front, Johannesburg, South Africa. @red_trevorAn anti-apartheid activist, in 1995 Trevor became the first democratically elected councillor of Pimville, Soweto. He is still involved in the fight for economic freedom and social justice. | Trevor Ngwane, national secretary, Democratic Left Front, Johannesburg, South Africa. @red_trevorAn anti-apartheid activist, in 1995 Trevor became the first democratically elected councillor of Pimville, Soweto. He is still involved in the fight for economic freedom and social justice. |
| Mallika Shakya, assistant professor in sociology, South Asian University, Delhi, India. @shakyanepalMallika is an economic anthropologist working on international trade and competitiveness, the politics of aid and the south-south exchange. | Mallika Shakya, assistant professor in sociology, South Asian University, Delhi, India. @shakyanepalMallika is an economic anthropologist working on international trade and competitiveness, the politics of aid and the south-south exchange. |
| John Kenneth Gibson, professor, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand. @waikatoJohn is a contributing author to UN Handbook of Poverty Statistics and author of Copenhagen Consensus report on post-2015 poverty targets. | John Kenneth Gibson, professor, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand. @waikatoJohn is a contributing author to UN Handbook of Poverty Statistics and author of Copenhagen Consensus report on post-2015 poverty targets. |
| Mark Pearson, deputy director of employment, labour and social affairs, OECD, Paris, France. @OECDMark provides leadership on employment-oriented social policies and has written a number of books including Growing Unequal?; Making Work Pay and the Caring World. | Mark Pearson, deputy director of employment, labour and social affairs, OECD, Paris, France. @OECDMark provides leadership on employment-oriented social policies and has written a number of books including Growing Unequal?; Making Work Pay and the Caring World. |
| The live chat is not video or audio-enabled but will take place in the comments section (below). Get in touch via globaldevpros@theguardian.com or @GuardianGDP on Twitter to recommend someone for our expert panel. Follow the discussion using the hashtag #globaldevlive. | The live chat is not video or audio-enabled but will take place in the comments section (below). Get in touch via globaldevpros@theguardian.com or @GuardianGDP on Twitter to recommend someone for our expert panel. Follow the discussion using the hashtag #globaldevlive. |