How long before we have nothing left to lose?

The international development organisation Oxfam took the unusual step at the end of last week of issuing a press release that is critical of the wealthy.

 

Generally those organisations that depend on donations hold their tongues when it comes to those who possess great wealth, as to criticise would be to potentially bite a hand that feeds.

 

In this case however, the level of inequality in the world is of such implication that the organisation has broken the mould. It stated, “It is now widely accepted that rapidly growing extreme wealth and inequality are harmful to human progress, and that something needs to be done.”

The release goes on to detail the fact that the 100 richest people in the world had a net income last year of £150bn, enough to end world poverty four times over. Added to this is the fact that the way in which great wealth is amassed leads to decreased job security and decent wages for the world’s poorest people.

It is not a great leap to state that at least partially those who are earning these vast sums are doing so at the expense of the poor internationally.

“Already this year, the World Economic Forum’s Global Risk Report rated inequality as one of the top global risks of 2013. The IMF and the Economist agree.”

This is reflected in a growing public anger and awareness of the destructive nature of inequality. Last year saw the rise of the Occupy movement where ordinary people took to the streets to voice their anger at what is happening in the world and the fact that the current geopolitical reality seems to be more inclined towards supporting the status quo rather than addressing it.

Public concern would seem to be well founded given the kinds of statistics Oxfam highlights in its release. It states, “Over the last 30 years inequality has grown dramatically in many countries. In the US the share of national income going to the top 1% has doubled since 1980 from 10 to 20%. For the top 0.01% it has quadrupled to levels never seen before.

“At a global level, the top 1% (60 million people), and particularly the even more select few in the top 0.01% (600,000 individuals – there are around 1,200 billionaires in the world), the last 30 years has been an incredible feeding frenzy. This is not confined to the US, or indeed to rich countries.

“In the UK inequality is rapidly returning to levels not seen since the time of Charles Dickens. In China the top 10% now take home nearly 60% of the income. Chinese inequality levels are now similar to those in South Africa, which is now the most unequal country on earth and significantly more unequal than at the end of apartheid.”

People in Ireland will not be surprised by these figures in the current economic climate. Certainly many people are suffering from decreased income, increased taxation, decreased job security and increased financial anxieties.

The numbers of people now living in poverty is increasing all the time and yet there remains a very real impression that not everyone is that badly affected. For a small group of wealthy people, the economic downturn has not seemed to slow them in their tracks.

How they make their money is definitely an issue worth investigating and while I’m not suggesting they might be engaging in illegal activity, I wonder at whose cost are they generating profit.

When you are struggling to feed your family you are likely to take any job you can and for this reason major corporations and unscrupulous business owners have a ready pool of available labour who will work for minimum wage and, in some cases, less than it. The fact minimum wage does not constitute a living wage or, in plainer language, enough to survive.

Ireland is not unique in this. It is, as Oxfam notes, an international trend and one that has not gone unnoticed by either the powers that be or the people who are suffering as a result. It may seem counterintuitive to most people but Oxfam reports, “Following the financial crisis, the process has accelerated, with the top 1% further increasing their share of income. The luxury goods market has registered double-digit growth every year since the crisis hit. Whether it is a sports car or a super-yacht, caviar or champagne, there has never been a bigger demand for the most expensive luxuries.”

It is hardly surprising, reading such statistics, that the IMF has expressed concern that civil unrest might result from this inequality. It has described it as divisive and dangerous. The potential for civil unrest is an unnerving one. If people are driven to the point where they rise up in an explosion of civil unrest, the likelihood is that they will be brutally suppressed by state security apparatus wherever they call home.
There will be bloodshed and possibly death and at the end of the day, little will have changed. Those wealthiest 1% will continue to live safe protected lives while the state takes care of their dirty work and keeps its citizens from expressing their righteous anger.

However, it is very difficult to see how change can come through political will. Internationally the political status quo is rigged in favour of the few and those with money can buy influence to their own advantage. This is not paranoia – it is, unfortunately, true.

I have often criticised the Irish government for their willingness to put their citizens through financial pain at the behest of the IMF and the EU. But, when I think of Ireland as like a poor person in debt to a moneylender who will send in the heavies if the debt isn’t serviced, it is easier to understand their behaviour.

Like the world’s poor, Ireland is currently stuck in a poverty trap and at the mercy of a geopolitical system that is stacked against those who are poor and powerless. Ireland has not revolted because it fears angering its master.

How long the world’s poor will continue to take what is meted out to them remains to be seen but there must come a point where they will have simply nothing left to lose.