Nov 6th

Sign in Finish Lecture 6 Lecture 7: Global Stratification Homework:

Davis, Mike Global Slums Chp 1-3 Summary of SL Interview #1

Lecture 7

Global Inequality

Global Inequalities

Global Inequalities The three richest people in the world own more than the

combined GDP of the 48 least-developed countries The richest 1% of the worlds population earns more than the

bottom 57%

US vs. Other Countries: Vast inequalities Income Infrastructure Health and Education

Paradox of plenty Why do we have inequality with so much wealth?

Modernization Theory

Global inequality results from dysfunctions internal to poor societies themselves

Rostow’s Stages of Economic Growth Traditional society Transitional stage Take Off Drive to Maturity High Mass Consumption

Historical Inequalities The richest countries of the world experienced the

industrial revolution in the 1800’s and early 1900’s During this time European powers fought each other over

colonial territories

Colonization: a foreign power uses its superior military force to impose its political, economic, social, and cultural institutions on an indigenous population with the aim of dominating their resources, labor, and markets Britain, the Caribbean, and India

Colonies in 1898

Human Development Index 2006

Dependency Theory

Focuses on relationship between rich and poor countries Development of some was dependent on the

underdevelopment of others

The history of colonialism needs to be taken into account when examining global inequality today Neo-colonization: through economic and political means –

not military force – countries are forced into dependency

Development comes with Underdevelopment

Newly Industrializing Countries New, rapidly growing economies of the world

started in emerge in the 1970’s

How did the Asian Tigers (and also Latin America) do it? Colonial relationships Economic and military aid Strong central gov’t Global economic growth

World Systems Analysis

Global capitalist development creates an integrated world system with three tiers

Core: major sources of capital and technology Periphery: raw materials and cheap labor Semi-Periphery: core in decline or periphery

moving up

Mobility is upward and/or downward

Global Integration: Whose Rules? Political and economic relations among the

most powerful countries (USA, Japan, Germany, China…) shape the world economy

Integration into the global economy is based on the economic theory of comparative advantage Uneven “playing field”

Biopiracy and Gene Theft

Biopiracy: appropriation of genetic material by foreigners ‘Discovering’ traditional knowledge

Intellectual Property Rights and TRIPS

Extracting from the periphery: Global South: 90% of biological wealth Global North: 97% of patents

Best Explanation?

Thinking about the readings for today, which theory do you think best explains global inequality & global poverty today? Modernization Dependency World Systems Analysis