International Relations Essay 2 ONLY ONTIME
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The Globalization of World Politics (6e)
28. Poverty, development, and hunger
Baylis, Smith & Owens
Baylis, Smith & Owens: The Globalization of World Politics 6e
Conceptualizing poverty
• The orthodox conception of poverty refers to a situation where people lack the money to satisfy basic needs – It has been widely regarded as
characterizing the Third World and has a notable gendered element
• Alternative use of the poverty term emphasize spiritual values, community ties, and availability of common resources – The UNDP is significant for distinguishing income
poverty from human poverty
Baylis, Smith & Owens: The Globalization of World Politics 6e
Conceptualizing development
• Development can be conceived only within an ideological framework
• The dominant conceptualization is that development is synonymous with economic growth in the context of a free-market international economy
• Alternative views incorporate matters of democracy, such as political empowerment, participation, self-determination etc.
Baylis, Smith & Owens: The Globalization of World Politics 6e
• The establishment of the IMF, the World Bank group, and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade founded a liberal international economic order (a.k.a. ‘embedded liberalism’)
• In the early post-war period, all states nevertheless favoured an important role for the state in development matters
• During the Cold War both sides offered economic support for development
Post-war development
Baylis, Smith & Owens: The Globalization of World Politics 6e
• In the early 1980s, radically increased interest rates and falling commodity prices made many developing countries unable to repay spiralling debts
• The IMF and the World Bank strongly encouraged developing countries to pursue market-oriented strategies – The belief was that global welfare can be maximized
by the liberalization of trade, finance, and investment – Throughout the Third World the state was rolled back
Post-war development
Baylis, Smith & Owens: The Globalization of World Politics 6e
• Orthodox liberal assessment of development suggests that ‘liberal globalization’ has indeed been a major driver of development of poor nations
• The idea that ‘trickle-down effects’ will bring benefits for the poorer classes in each country has however not been validated – Wealth polarization has increased in the developing
world – Concomitant social unrest can in some cases be
mitigated by aid and poverty reduction schemes
Post-war development
Baylis, Smith & Owens: The Globalization of World Politics 6e
• Since the 1970s, there have been attempts to engender debate about the contested nature of development
• The Dag Hammarskjöld foundation take of the ideal nature of development. It should be: – Need oriented – Endogenous – Self-reliance – Ecologically sound – Based on structural transformations
Post-war development: the critical view
Baylis, Smith & Owens: The Globalization of World Politics 6e
• In the mainstream debate, the focus has shifted from growth to sustainable development, a concept championed in the late 1980s by the Brundtland commission – A new emphasis is intergenerational equity – An acceptance that there are natural limits to growth – Growth is important but needs to be made
environment friendly
Post-war development: the critical view
Baylis, Smith & Owens: The Globalization of World Politics 6e
• In the mainstream debate, the focus has shifted from growth to sustainable development, a concept championed in the late 1980s by the Brundtland commission – A new emphasis is intergenerational equity – An acceptance that there are natural limits to growth – Growth is important but needs to be made
environment friendly • There are concerns that these ambitions have
been drained by national interests
Post-war development: the critical view
Baylis, Smith & Owens: The Globalization of World Politics 6e
• Broadly speaking, there are two schools of thought with regard to hunger:
• The orthodox, nature-focused approach identifies the problem largely as one of overpopulation
• The entitlement, society-focused approach sees the problem more in terms of distribution
Hunger
Baylis, Smith & Owens: The Globalization of World Politics 6e
• In 1798, Thomas Robert Malthus outlined the orthodox perception of the relationship between human population growth and the food supply – Population growth naturally outstrips the growth in
food production, until some disaster reduces the human population to a (temporarily) sustainable level
– This view means that ways to reduce the fertility of the human race represent the only viable solution
– The supports the idea that strict family planning policies will be required in the Third World
Hunger: the orthodox explanation
Baylis, Smith & Owens: The Globalization of World Politics 6e
• Critics of the orthodox view point out the enormous increase in food production per capita
• They further note that the Third World produces much of the world’s food, while those who consume most of it are located in the Western world
• Famines have often occurred when there has been no significant reduction in the level of per capita food availability
Hunger: the entitlement explanation
Baylis, Smith & Owens: The Globalization of World Politics 6e
• Whether a person starves or eats often depends on whether or not he or she can establish an entitlement to available food
• This means that the structural conditions for hunger prevail even when there is more than enough food to go around
• The incorporation of local systems of food production into a global system has exacerbated these structural conditions
Hunger: the entitlement explanation
Baylis, Smith & Owens: The Globalization of World Politics 6e
• In 2004, the founders of Hathay Bunano Proshikhan Society (HBPS) asked themselves: – How to create sustainable employment
free of debt… – …without changes in the lifestyle rural women… – … when generating returns comparable with the
enterprises modelled on mainstream economic lines? • Their answer: create flexible employment
opportunities for women in rural
Case study 1: Taking jobs to Bangladesh’s poor
Baylis, Smith & Owens: The Globalization of World Politics 6e
• HBPS created a social business model producing knitted and crocheted children’s toys
• Working conditions are simple, and work is undertaken in a social setting alongside friends and neighbours
• Children are brought to the workplace to be cared for during the day
• Women workers can thus contribute to the family economy without breaking family and village ties
Case study 1: Taking jobs to Bangladesh’s poor
