Politics as usual : what lies behind the pro-poor rhetoric / Thomas Pogge.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Pogge, Thomas, 1953-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Poverty.

Poverty--Government policy.

Poverty--International cooperation.

Physical Description:

x, 273 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, UK ; Malden, MA : Polity, 2010.

Summary:

"Worldwide, human lives are rapidly improving. Education, health-care, technology, and political participation are becoming ever more universal, empowering human beings everywhere to enjoy security, economic sufficiency, equal citizenship, and a life in dignity. To be sure, there are some specially difficult areas disfavoured by climate, geography, local diseases, unenlightened cultures or political tyranny. Here progress is slow, and there may be set-backs. But the affluent states and many international organizations are working steadily to extend the blessings of modernity through trade and generous development assistance, and it won't be long until the last pockets of severe oppression and poverty are gone. Heavily promoted by Western governments and media, this comforting view of the world is widely shared, at least among the affluent. Pogge's new book presents an alternative view: Poverty and oppression persist on a massive scale; political and economic inequalities are rising dramatically both intra-nationally and globally. The affluent states and the international organizations they control knowingly contribute greatly to these evils - selfishly promoting rules and policies harmful to the poor while hypocritically pretending to set and promote ambitious development goals. Pogge's case studies include the $1/day poverty measurement exercise, the cosmetic statistics behind the first Millennium Development Goal, the War on Terror, and the proposed relaxation of the constraints on humanitarian intervention"--Back cover.

Contents:

What is global justice?

Recognized and violated by international law : the human rights of the global poor

The first UN millennium development goal : a cause for celebration?

Developing morally plausible indices of poverty and gender equity : a research program

Growth and inequality : understanding recent trends and political choices

Dworkin, the abortion battle, and global poverty

Making war on terrorists : reflections on harming the innocent

Moralizing humanitarian intervention : why jurying fails and how law can work

Creating supranational institutions democratically : reflections on the European Union's "democratic deficit."

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 242-258) and index.

ISBN:

9780745638928

0745638929

9780745638935

0745638937

OCLC:

475663944

Online:

Publisher description

Contributor biographical information