The inequitable world that we live in (on the “filthy rich”)
Negotiating with my middle class guilt, I have been pondering over this article. I had posted on Richistans earlier - somehow the obscenity of excessive (many would disagree here) wealth continues to irk me and thankfully countless others.
Hiram Lee writes:
“Forbes magazine has published its 2007 list of the 400 richest people in America. This marks the 25th anniversary of the list first begun in 1982. The richest person in America then was Daniel Ludwig, a shipping tycoon worth $2 billion—$4.3 billion today, when adjusted for inflation. His fortune is today dwarfed by the obscene levels of wealth maintained by the current Forbes 400. Number one in 1982, Ludwig’s fortune would just barely earn him a spot as one of the top 80 richest Americans today.
The year 2006 marked the first time that $1 billion was a prerequisite for placement on the Forbes list. Now, only a year later, this is no longer adequate. $1.3 billion is the current “price of admission.” Most shamefully, the combined net worth of the individuals on the list is now an astonishing $1.54 trillion dollars, up $290 billion since last year’s list.”
After making a reference to the startling levels of poverty in the US, this is what the author says about global poverty:
“In the opening sentences of a report by the International Food Policy Research Institute entitled “The Challenge of Hunger 2007,” we read this horrifying statistic: “One in seven people go to bed hungry every day. That’s 854 million people worldwide.” In addition to this, Forbes, in its own magazine heralding the 25th anniversary of the richest Americans list, was itself compelled to report that 1 billion people in the world live on $1 per day or less.”
Lee then lambasts the system that perpetuates this state of affairs:
“As more and more wealth is concentrated with alarming speed and with more predatory methods into the hands of the smallest minority, the living conditions of poor and working class people throughout the world are driven further and further into the ground..”
November 27th, 2007
in
Blog Babble, Politics, Globalization, All My Posts, World Writers, Tragic, Poverty |
November 28th, 2007 at 6:26 am
I prefer measurements of ‘happiness’ (http://worlddatabaseofhappiness.eur.nl/statnat/statnat_fp.htm). Never understod the difference of having $10 million or $100 million either.
November 28th, 2007 at 1:13 pm
proudhon said at the beginning of the eighteenth century that property is theft. today property is theft not only from society as stressed in this post but also from nature. both go hand in hand in fact the exploitation of natural and human resources. and this injustice is supported by military oppression. the powers in the hands of the state are so great that it has become difficult to actualise an anarchist response. even more so than it was in proudhon’s time
November 29th, 2007 at 6:29 am
The entire money system is odd to me. It’s this collection of stored energy that’s materialized into paper and it “determines a person’s physical worth and prosperity.” It’s a fabricated happiness, an illustion of superiority. I often see a distinct relationship between wealth and paranoia (ie millitary oppression). I don’t know if having money is worth the stress and degradation of the spirit. Most wealthy people I’ve met lack the ability to be self-sufficient, from having personal assistants to nannies and housecleaners to personal chefs. So sure, they “create jobs” but because of their own laziness?! I dream of a day where I live in a community that supports each other without this co-dependent motivation.