The Divide

A Brief Guide to Global Inequality and its Solutions

by Jason Hickel

hardcover

Published May 3, 2017 by Heinemann, William Heinemann.

ISBN:: 978-1-78515-112-5
OCLC Number:: 984907212

(12 reviews)

We have been told that development is working: that the global South is catching up to the North, that poverty has been cut in half over the past thirty years, and will be eradicated by 2030. It’s a comforting tale, and one that is endorsed by the world’s most powerful governments and corporations. But is it true?

Since 1960, the income gap between the North and South has roughly tripled in size. Today 4.3 billion people, 60 per cent of the world's population, live on less than $5 per day. Some 1 billion live on less than $1 a day. The richest eight people now control the same amount of wealth as the poorest half of the world combined.

What is causing this growing divide? We are told that poverty is a natural phenomenon that can be fixed with aid. But in reality it is a political problem: poverty doesn’t …

What is causing this growing divide? We are told that poverty is a natural phenomenon that can be fixed with aid. But in reality it is a political problem: poverty doesn’t just exist, it has been created.

Poor countries are poor because they are integrated into the global economic system on unequal terms. Aid only works to hide the deep patterns of wealth extraction that cause poverty and inequality in the first place: rigged trade deals, tax evasion, land grabs and the costs associated with climate change. The Divide tracks the evolution of this system, from the expeditions of Christopher Columbus in the 1490s to the international debt regime, which has allowed a handful of rich countries to effectively control economic policies in the rest of the world.

Because poverty is a political problem, it requires political solutions. The Divide offers a range of revelatory answers, but also explains that something much more radical is needed – a revolution in our way of thinking. Drawing on pioneering research, detailed analysis and years of first-hand experience, The Divide is a provocative, urgent and ultimately uplifting account of how the world works, and how it can change.

5 editions

vxnxnt reviewed Die Tyrannei des Wachstums by Jason Hickel

An indespensible book for understanding global poverty and inequality

5 stars

This book went into a lot of detail, from which I was able to learn quite a lot. It mainly covers the inner workings of the current global economy and answers the question of how poor countries came to be poor and why they will stay poor. In this sense, the book pretty much outdid itself in every regard.

The Divide covers the history of Colonialism and Capitalism as to show how europe enriched themselves by underdeveloping the global south. Hickel takes a look at various sources and historical data to show just how many natural resources (e.g. Gold and Silver) were stolen and the genocide of the indigenous population that followed. Additionally, the author takes a look at many military coups supported by the West and the consequences as such. Hickel goes into great detail explaining how Neoliberalism was born and its first trial in Chile after a coup, which resulted in mass poverty, hyperinflation and mass unemployment. Moreover, the book discusses international institutions such as the WTO, World Bank and IMF. Hickel goes on to write how these undemocratic institutions utilized the global south's national debt to force Neoliberal reforms onto them, which previously employed keynesian economic policies. These reforms are known as Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs) which privatized, liberalized and deregulated their economies and took the states control of their own economies away. Which of course resulted in more poverty and inequality.

Lastly, Jason Hickel goes into even finer detail discussing the UN's Millennium Development Goals and various statistics. He examines the tactics used to make the results of the statistics as favorable as possible. As a result it would seem as if poverty and inequality are being reduced, while in reality it's becoming much worse. Some of these tactics include not properly adjusting for inflation, setting the bar for absolute poverty much too low and some other faulty methods of gathering and portraying data.

The writing of The Divide was well done and even a bit entertaining, while still giving a good insight into the problems of our current globalized economy. However, I find that the solutions the book provides aren't enough. They are mostly just reforms and suggest taking measures, such as simply democratizing international institutions and cancelling all national debt. Sure, these are good solutions, but they don't really solve the root of the problem, which is an undemocratic economy that presupposes the use of colonialism, imperialism and exploitation of others to guarantee its own existence. For that reason a democratization of the entire economy is a necessity, and not just simple reforms that operate within the current system. Nonetheless, I still find the book to be crucial and I couldn't recommend it enough. It even pairs quite well with Hicklel's second book, Less is More.

Flcn reviewed The Divide by Jason Hickel

Review of 'The Divide' on 'GoodReads'

5 stars

I have no idea who do I need all this information, but it was interesting to read.

Daniele (He/Him) reviewed The Divide by Jason Hickel

A brief guide to global inequality

5 stars

The mainstream narrative, pushed by personalities like Bill Gates and Steven Pinker, tells us that the world is getting better: poverty, disease, hunger are declining, and despite some inevitable setbacks, the trend toward progress is clear. There's only a problem with this story: it isn't true. In The Divide Jason Hickel illustrates the causes of global inequality, from colonialism to military coups, to debt and the present economic system, and shows why the narrative about progress and development is just a delusion. The divide between rich and poor countries is increasing, but it doesn't have to be this way. Poor countries are not poor because of some law of nature, but as a consequence of human intervention. Changing the current economic system to build a more fair and just world depends on us.

sirodoht reviewed The Divide by Jason Hickel

Review of 'The Divide' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

The Sapiens book for capitalism. The economic history of the last 500 years. Why poor countries are poor and why rich countries are rich. What does the IMF, the World Bank, and the WTO do. What's up with all those NGOs in Africa.

These are some of questions this book answers. Other reviews said it feels like taking the red pill and leaving the Matrix; it is exactly that. And the answers will make you outrageous.

Maybe you won't learn anything new; global equality is a major issue and we all know it. But the analysis, the facts, and the details this book presents helped me understand virtually everything about the current global economic system. I now feel much more confident to gauge what any economic policies are about.

Great book.