Book Description
Globalization is characterized by a systemic interconnection in which what hapInequality has been on the rise across the globe and living conditions are vastly unequal between different places in the world. Currently, the richest 1% own 45% of the world’s wealth. The consequence is that some people are able to enjoy healthy, wealthy, happy lives whilst others continue to live in ill-health, poverty and sorrow. Rapid economic growth in Asia (particularly China and India) has lifted many people out of extreme poverty. Nevertheless, the wealth divide is steadily growing. According to Oxfam, between 2009 and 2018, the number of billionaires it took to equal the wealth of the world’s poorest 50 percent fell from 380 to 26. Those with extreme wealth have often accumulated their fortunes on the backs of people around the world who work for poor wages and under dangerous conditions. Women are scarce at the top and overrepresented at the bottom. Gender discrimination in the workplace contributes significantly to these persistent economic divides. There are also large differences in wealth across racial groups. Long-standing racial discrimination in many forms, including in education, hiring, and pay practices contribute to persistent earnings gaps. Inequalities have dramatically strengthened the economic and political power of those individuals at the top.
