若說托瑪.皮凱提的《二十一世紀資本論》,
以經濟學之眼,看穿資本主義積累所導致的貧富不均病灶
《The Divide》則帶領讀者從另一條路徑直搗核心,揭穿世界所有強權與富人都不願承認,放任、甚至維護貧富不均狀態的關鍵意識形態─「進步」的神話
貧富不均的問題非常嚴重。每年大型研究機構總會提出各種驚人的數字,提醒著我們情況的嚴峻:當世界8大首富擁有全球一半人口的財富總合,或有一說認為今日有高達十億人,生活在每日1美金的基準線之下。面對這些問題,從世界銀行World Bank到各種國際人道組織NGO,焦急呼籲人們提供援助,給予弱勢人們一臂之力。提供教育、建設、管理制度,幫助這些未開發與開發中國家們,追上其他已開發國家的腳步。
這是大家熟悉的說法,然而,為何已歷經數十載,情形似乎遙遙不見改善?
因為國際間的貧富不均從不是由於有些國家在進步之路上走得比較緩慢,它是政治運作的產物。而且,也持續經由政治力所維繫。
《The Divide》一書包含三個部分,作者首先對今日大家深信不疑的「進步」神話進行解謎,不僅破除世界貧富不均已日趨減緩的官方說法,更進一步揭開掩藏在進步論述之下的,很可能是缺乏因地制宜,標準狹隘的「成功」判準,以及對於過往歷史進程的不合理詮釋。
何以說以「進步」程度來說明各國的發展是不恰當的?作者在第二部分回顧了自西元1500年以降的世界史發展,一步步展示「不均」的政治創造過程。從殖民到針對未開發國家發放龐大金融借貸,正如亞當斯密所說:「有兩種方式可以征服並奴役一個國家:一則以劍,一則以債。」,即便每年大筆的慈善金援挹注,但,財富榨取與積累的結構,其實早已決定了這些國家的前景。最後,作者提出對於貧富不均的解決方法,關於改變之必要,也關於想像力之必要,才能重建世界的樣貌。
作者Jason Hickel出身史瓦濟蘭,曾生活在世界上最為嚴重的AIDS/HIV流行潮中,也曾擔任世界展望會研究員。對於人道組織工作的無能為力感到喪志,轉而致力成為學者,今日任教於英國權威的倫敦政經學院,持續研究世界發展、剝削及全球政治經濟學。寫作充滿熱情,同時飽含數據資訊與歷史資料佐證。《The Divide》無疑是凝結他的畢生學經之路鑄成之作,也是針對國際貧富不均問題,今年度最無畏而響亮的一聲吶喊,擊碎形塑世界現狀的迷思。(文/博客來編譯)
For decades we have been told a story about the divide between rich countries and poor countries.
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 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 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.
Review
"In this iconoclastic book, Jason Hickel shakes up the prevailing paradigm of "development" at its root. He not only exposes the fatal flaws in the standard model of development but also shows how the "development aid" given to the poor countries in order to promote that erroneous model is vastly outweighed by the resource transferred to the rich countries through an unfair global economic system. Many of the proposals that Hickel makes for institutional reform and intellectual re-framing may sound "mad", as he himself acknowledges, but history has taught us that mad ideas have the habit of becoming respectable over time. This book will radically change the way in which you understand the workings of the global economic system and the challenges faced by poor countries trying to advance within it." (Ha-Joon Chang, University of Cambridge, author of 23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism and Economics: The User's Guide)
"With passion and panache, Jason Hickel tells a very different story of why poverty exists, what progress is, and who we are. The Divide is myth busting at its best. The West has controlled the rest through colonization, coups, trade and debt. Poor countries are made poor by this; but a dramatic change is coming." (Danny Dorling, author of Inequality and the 1%)
"We all like to think of aid and development as benign in a world full of inequality and violence. Jason Hickel rightly challenges this dangerous myth with a book that crackles with facts, indignation and heart. Why hasn't global poverty and hunger really declined in the last decades? A combination of NGO and government obfuscation, denial and wishful thinking is not helping the world's most vulnerable but marking them as numbers. Journalists, aid workers and anybody who has ever given aid (i.e. nearly everybody) should read this book to understand why we all have a responsibility to better serve our fellow human beings. Hickel should be applauded." (Antony Loewenstein, author of Disaster Capitalism)
"The Divide is an exceptional, necessary and essential book about the processes that produce and perpetuate impoverishment. Jason Hickel provides here not only a devastating critique of ‘development’ and the aid industry, but also one of the best explanations of how it all works. Written in a captivating and easy to read style, this book must become the standard text for everyone studying, working or interested in development." (Firoze Manji, author of African Awakening: The Emerging Revolutions)
"The Divide provides an evolutionary leap in our understanding of inequality and poverty. It should be required reading for anyone hoping to realise a better world." (Alnoor Ladha, Greenpeace)
"For years now, we have all been sold a false story about international development. In this broad, compelling book, Dr Hickel deconstructs every false assumption, misleading statistic and overblown claim to expose a sector in crisis. If international development charities and institutions want to turn the ship around, they need to read this book." (Martin Kirk)
"Jason Hickel offers a compelling analysis of economic inequality in our world today. He takes apart distorted statistics used by institutions like the UN and mega-philanthropists like Bill Gates, who want to pretend that poverty is being addressed. Hickel explains how current models of Western development and philanthropy have actually made the problem worse, as if they were designed explicitly to support entrenched structures of power and privilege. The book is ultimately an outcry for a new politics based on empathy and shared responsibility." (Daniel Pinchbeck, author of How Soon is Now?)