The South African Civil Society Information Service
A nonprofit news agency promoting social justice. Seeking answers to the question:
How do we make democracy work for the poor?
A nonprofit news agency promoting social justice. Seeking answers to the question:
How do we make democracy work for the poor?
The news of society's growing inequality makes all of us uneasy. But why? In this TED Talk, behavioral economist, Dan Ariely, reveals some new, surprising research about what we think is fair, as far as how wealth is distributed over societies. He then shows how public perception stacks up to real statistics. What he exposes is an incredible knowledge gap in terms of what people think the level of inequality is compared to the reality. Ariely’s research findings got really interesting...
Jason Hickel -
International development is in serious crisis. Charities are worried about the fact that public support for development is waning – that people just don’t seem to ‘buy it’ any more. According to a recent report by the development umbrella group Bond, ‘Efforts to eradicate poverty appear to many members of the public to have failed, and scepticism about the effectiveness of aid and global development initiatives has risen.’ People are less and less likely...
Nick Galasso & Marjorie Wood -
Extreme economic inequality is corrosive.
It makes poverty reduction harder, hurts our economies, and drives conflict and violence. Reversing this trend presents a significant challenge, but one where we’ve seen some progress. Below we offer eight ways to move the world forward in reducing global inequality.
1. A Check on Illicit Outflows
In developing countries, inadequate resourcing for health, education, sanitation, and investment in the poorest citizens drives extreme...
A New York high-rise developer is at the center of outrage for building what activists are calling a "poor door". Composed of high-end luxury apartments and cheaper units meant for low-income families, the building will have a special back entrance that those living in the less expensive apartments must use.
By including cheaper apartments in the building under the auspices an inclusionary housing programme, the developer is able to apply for tax breaks estimated at millions of...
Heiner flassbeck, Professor of Economics, Hamburg University, argues that the world is in a dangerous moment where it is sliding towards a global recession with all its attendant social problems.
Globally, there is high pressure on low wages. In the past there was high pressure on high wages. However, 30 years after the neoliberal counterrevolution, it is the other way around. The situation is destabilizing the global economy and requires an intervention to strengthen the labour sector...
We have drifted from a market economy to a market society and one of its most corrosive effects is un-commonality, argues Harvard academic, Michael Sandel.
Those who are affluent and those who have modest means lead separate lives. This isn't good for democracy. Democracy doesn’t require perfect equality, but what it does require is that citizens share in a common life. What matters is that people of different social backgrounds encounter one another in the ordinary course of life...
