THE END of POVERTY? the award-winningDOCUMENTARYThe aphorism "The poor are always with us" dates back to the New Testament, butwhile the phrase is still sadly apt in the 21st century, few seem to be able to explainwhy poverty is so widespread. Activist filmmaker hilippe !ia" examines the historyandimpact of economicine#uality inthe thirdworld in TheEndof Poverty?, andmakes the compellin$ ar$ument that it%s not an accident or simple bad luck that hascreateda$rowin$ underclass aroundtheworld. !ia"tracesthe$rowthof $lobalpoverty back to coloni"ation in the1&th century, and features interviews with anumber of economists, sociolo$ists, and historians who explain how poverty is theclearconse#uenceof free'market economicpoliciesthat allowpowerful nationstoexploit poorer countries for their assets and keep money in the hands of the wealthyrather than distributin$ it more e#uitably to the people who have helped them $aintheir fortunes. !ia" also explores how wealthy nations (especially the )nited *tates+sei"e a disproportionate share of the world%s natural resources, and howthisimbalance is havin$ a dire impact on the environment as well as the economy.. JOHN PER!N" a#thor$ e%ono&i't U"A(((((((((((((((( people die from hunger or hunger-related diseases.From the most rational economic standpoint this systemis a (((((((((((((((() Less than ((((((((of the worlds population live in theUSAwhiletheyconsumeover((((((((of theworldresources and create (((((((( of its major pollution.ER!C TOU""ANT a#thor$ *re'ident of the CADTM$+e,gi#&ED-ARDO .ANDER *rofe''or$ hi'torian Vene/#,a(Committee for the Abolition of the Third World Debt 'CADTMs specific focus is the ThirdWorld Debt and its aim is to achieve the cancellation of the external public debt in third worldcountries and subse#uently to break the spiral of deeper and deeper indebtedness by settin$ upmodels of socially fair and environmentally sustainable development.+he!eydateis(((((((()Fromthatpointonwecantal! a"out((((((((((((((((()he (((((((((((((((((andmodern times started at the moment of the((((((((((((((((() 0he colonisation and the su"mission of the peoples ofthe Americas "y the (((((((( and the(((((((()1he way the #ristish justi$ed the e%propriation of thelandwastousetheirownlegal system. &n'()*thecolonial government decreedthat incountireswherethere is no((((((((formof government the land"elongs to the((((((((of +ngland and theyappropriated ultimate ((((((((to the land they passedlaws and gave settlers (((((((((((((((()Land was con$scated, appropriated "y thecon-istadors andthecolonisers throughout inSouthAmerica, Asia and Africa either "y (((((((( or imposing(((((((( on heads and huts that the people couldnt pay.odaymorethan((((((((years later anddo.ens ofyearsaftertheindependenceof thecountriespeoplestill donthavetheirlands"ac!whicharestill inthehandsof large(((((((((((((((and (((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((()1!N ENYA$ AT THE END O2 CO.ON!A. T!ME" THE3H!TE((((((((4O3NED((((((((4O2 THEARA+.E .AND)Ca'e't#d567 +ra/i,ian'#gar-%anewor8er'9"ao Pao,o:/aving had their natural economy destroyed it forcedto people to wor! for their new masters. &t is estimatedthat today((((((((million people still live in(((((((((((((((condition all over the world. hey wor!with their families on(((((((((((((((and(((((((((((((((in e%change for(((((((((((((((and((((((((((((((()'. 0hat aresomeadversitiesthesugar-canewor!ershave to face1222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222223. 0hat does their daily wage come to1222222222222222222222223!..!AM EA"TER.Y a#thor$ e%ono&i't U"AM!CHAE. 3ATT" a#thor$ *rofe''or U"AED-ARDO .ANDER *rofe''or$ hi'torian Vene/#,a4olonialismhadverynegative, lastingconse-uencesthat we still have today 5 colonialism is one of the "igreasons why some countries are stillpoor. For the leftlegacy of violence the most o"vious e%ample is(((((((((((((((6illions of Africans were ((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((and ta!en across the ocean underhorri$cconditionsto"eslavesof the(((((((((((((((powers7 0hat are the prere-usities for capitalism1 4apitalismcannot operate without ((((((((((((((( ) &ts a !ey costof production.7he +uropean empires were "uilt upon the richesstolen fromthe (((((((((((((((andon cheaporfreela"or provided "y the (((((((((((((((. he gold mines of#ra.il and the silver mines of #olivia 89otosi: providedthe +uropean empires the((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((to start and $nance their((((((((((((((( ((((((((((((((()1he transfer of(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((($mainlygoldandsilver, wasthemainreasonfor theaccumulation of(((((((((((((((thattoo!placeinthe;etherlands, the U$ TH!RD 3OR.D COUNTR!E" HAVE"U22ERED A((((((((DROP !N PR!CE O2A-R!CU.TURA.((((((((COMPARED TOMANU2ACTURED (((((((()THE R!CHE"T ((((O2 THE 3OR.DA" POPU.AT!ONO3N" (((( O2 THE 3EA.TH)he accumulation of resources on the ;orthern/emisphere created this huge((((((((ma!ing the;orth e%tremely wealthy allowing +urope to develop itsindustries and to create (((((((( societies. 0hile peopleliving in the South "ecame destitute, only a"le to watchtheir natural economy "eing destroyed and replaced "ya (((((((( (((((((()M!CHAE. 3ATT" a#thor$ *rofe''or U"ASomething can only "ecome a mar!et if its ta!en outof a non-mar!et conte%t. Something has to "e "oughtand sold. &t can only "e a strategic resource if preciselyif you ((((((((this resource. 9rimitive acculmulation isrecursive. &t happens from time and time again underdi>erent!indofcircumstances. herealityisthatweare no less dependent on !ey(((((((( ((((((((now thatwe were in '()A. &ts not just a"out oil "ut a whole raftof resources that are a"solutely ((((((((.7OOTH O-ENDO .A3 PRO2E""OR$ ENYA0hat are not we as much interested in whats going onin Somalia as we are in Sudan, Angola and the 4ongo1222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222CA"E "TUDY =) 3OR!N- .AD!E"$ REC!2E$ +RAC!.TODAY &ore than 6 (((((((( *eo*,e .!VE in ".UM"of THE "OUTH)ER!C TOU""ANT a#thor$ *re'ident of the CADTM$+e,gi#&From when did we "egin to a"olish empires1222222222222222222220hatideologydotheone-timecoloniescomeunder1_______________________________________________________0hy does he say that policies forced upon the inde"tedcountries of the South are dictated from 0ashington? _______________________________________________________CA"E "TUDY @) A!ndeDtne''A CARACA"$VENECUE.A0hen the countries of the South won theirindependencetheaccumulatedde"ts of thecolonialpowers used to open new mar!ets were (((((((( to thenewly-formed governments in total violation ofinternational laws. he only solution o>ered "y the;orthwasmorede"t withe%tremelyhighinterest inorder to repay the initial one. hese newly-formedstates immediately lost their (((((((( and "ecame evenmoredependent uponthe;ortherncountries, whichcould then dictate policies on((((((((,((((((((,((((((((and givespecialpriviligies to foreign((((((((such asmonopolies over mineral e%traction or monoculturee%ploitation.ER!C TOU""ANT a#thor$ *re'ident of the CADTM$+e,gi#&0hat was the 0orld #an!s ta!e on the situation1You ((((( us so youll follow our advice n well tell youhow to(((((. Take more(((((to build larerinfrastructures to e!"ort your natural resources.#JOHN PER!N" a#thor$ e%ono&i't U"A0hy are not loans going to help poor people1222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222"U"AN -EOR-E- a#thor$ Tran'nationa, !n'tit#te$ 2ran%e/ow much is Su"-Saharan Africa paying every minute to;orthern creditors as de"t repayment1 22222222222222222&t is actually the South that is $nancing the ;orth.70hat does total sum of this $nancing come to "y year122222222222Ca'e "t#d5 E) RAU. RAM!REC P,anning Mini'tr5 Dire%tor$ +o,ierent from what it usedto "e li!e1 Peo"le used to et drus 2222222222222222 5ealth careused to be run by the 22222222. 0hy do people die of simple things li!e malaria1%ecause they cannot a6ord to "ay the small 22222222re7uired to run the hos"itals. 0hat did the 0orld #an! insist1 That the health bill istoo22222222=the overnment has to reduce its2222222222222222.0hat did the governments reducing its e%penditureleave the majority of people without1 2n 22222222tohealth facilities and educationCA"E "TUDY E) !+ERA ".UM$ NairoDi$ en5a/owmuchistheslum-dweller Mosephsupposedtopay for the e%am and school fees122222222222222222222222222222222220hat does his mother earn12222222222222222222222222222220hat adversities do Moseph and his family face? _____________________________________________________!N 6BE>$2222222222222222PEOP.E 3ERE"U22ER!N- 2ROM 2222222222222222TODAY THEREARE 2222222222222222C.!22ORD CO++ a#thor$ hi'torian$ U"Ahere is a great irony today that the developedcountries of the world are tal!ing a"out2222222222222222asif thatsthesolutiontothepro"lemofpoverty in the world. 6uch of the history of the lastcouple of centuries has "een an e>ort of countries to"ecome 2222222222222222222 22222222222222222throughtari6s)to "e a"le to develop 2222222222222222222222222222222. 8H: ;ow"ecausetheUSAand+uropeanpowershaveprevented Third $orld countries from doing that, andin fact are imposing tari6s to prevent the import ofthe 2222222222222222from Third $orld countriesandin fact are not practising 22222222 22222222 its all theirwayof !eepingthehird0orldintheir placeandpreventing them from ever developing.7tari6s)8v-millet9k: ; it is a ta% on imports or e%ports manufacturedoods)8y-ri -ruk: erent formsof power and the structural violence that hold morethantwothird'of theworldindirestraits8nagynyomor"an:.@ur chosen economic model hascreatedaglo"al situationinwhichtodaylessthan;=4of the worlds population uses more than H>4of theplanetsresourceswhilecreatingE>4of itspollution. CA"E "TUDY 6>) E""O ".UM$ TANCAN!A I MNC'9M#,ti)Cor*'):/ow are the locals put at a disadvantage against the6;4s1 0&'s wereiventhemostproductiveareas tomine on.#0&'s are huely mechanized?eins interconnect underground. 0hat would happento a small miner if he happened to wor! on the samevein as the company1 5ell be shot.he0orld#an!andthe&6Fputtingpressureon222222222222nations, comingupwithconditions sothat these countries stay eligi"le for222222222222222222and were further putting pressure on them toallow 222222222222in their countries so that they canhelp people to create jo"s.79eople are "eing 222222222222here severely. A lot ofmoney that could have "een used "y the 222222are"eing222222222222out into "y some foreigncountries.7!N A2R!CA$ !N THE 6BB>' THE NUM+ER O2PEOP.E .!V!N- ON .E"" THAN 222222222222 A DAYRO"E 2ROM ;E? M!..!ON TO ?;H M!..!ON)M!.OON OTHAR!$ UN RAPPORTEUR$ !ND!A6anypeoplell haveto"eforcedinto222222222222,somell haveto222222"ecausewerefollowingthewrong economic model. 0e have evidence fromLatin-America, Africa that these policies have notwor!ed.7TR!C.E-DO3NE22ECT-is an economic phenomenonwhere"y low-income groups "ene$t indirectly from theaccumulation of wealth of those having higher incomesU thatis, the income is said to Qtri%8,e downQ from the rich to thepoor. his phenomenonhappens as aresult of economicgrowth. For e%ample, the rich ma!e investments to enhancetheir wealth, and those investments can generate new jo"s.he theory fails to ta!e into account of openness of todaysmar!et, since the "ene$t that the rich receive may notnecessarily create more jo" opportunity for middle and lowerclass in their country. For instance, if the increase ininvestment and spending are mainly focus a"road then thefollow-up 8utVlagos:"ene$t will not tric!le down to thewor!ers.he"ene$t given to therich may notnecessarily tric!ledown, depending on their propensity to consume. &f most ofthe "ene$t are saved then the amount "ene$t that will tric!lewill "e much smaller. here is also a dou"t that the increaseinwealthof therichcan"espent moree>ectivelythanfunding other governmental development project in the formof ta%. C.!22ORD CO++ a#thor$ hi'torian$ U"A/ow is it possi"le that in countries in which theresgrowingwealththerereactuallymorepoor peoplethan there were "efore1 0hy222222-222222economics does not wor!1 0hy doesnt wealth tric!ledown fromthe rich to the poor1 here are $%edamount of 222222 222222222222in the world and thosewho own the resources are a"le to charge higher andhigher prices for the as the economy develops.4onsider the $ctitious e%ample= what would happen ifwe lived in a society in which theres only one oasisthat had all the water, which everyone had to comefor their water supply. &f a single person owned thatwater supply we would all "e forced to pay as muchmoneyaswewerea"leto. 8H:&fyoulivedinthatsociety and you were having to pay huge amounts forsomeresource-thatcouldinfact"eowned"yall"ecause it came fromnature - and theres noparticular reasonfor onepersontoownit. After awhiletheywould"egintofeel intenseresentment8nehe.telPs: trying to overthrow the people who ownthat resource.7 9overty in the world cannot possi"ly "e eliminatedunless the poor themselves say we insist on 222222222not222222222@ne e%ample of this justice is2222222222222international de"t. Asecondelementwould "e to change the ta% system in every countryof the world. Eight now most ta%es fall on the poor inthe form of22222222222222ta%es and ta%es on22222222222 8income ta%:(taxing income taxes what people contributeto the economy, while taxing consumption taxes what they take out) &f justiceis to "e done most of the ta%es must fall on22222222222222222222222222and not on wages, not onpeople. hird= the poor should demand agrarian,222222reform. Eestoring land to the people whoactually wor! onitinstead ofa few land owners. Afourth thing is to 22222222222222of naturalresources8the act of transferring ownership from the 222222sector tothe 222222sector. &t occurs when a government attempts tomaintain the sta"ility of its critical infrastructure when theresan economic distress:. 0eve seen in #olivia thats possi"le where the#olivian people actually too! "ac! that water that had"een given to #echtel, and they forced #echtel out ofthe country. And now the #olivian people once moreown that water.7he resources of naturere given to all of us and yeta handful of people and corporations have control ofthem5oil companies"eingaprimee%amplethateveryones familiar with. &f we could ena"le everyoneto "ene$t from those resources we could end poverty.Andthewaytodothat is"yrestoringtheideaif4ommons. 8a java!:78he %o&&on' is the cultural and natural resourcesaccessi"letoall mem"ers of asociety, includingnaturalmaterialssuchasair, water, andaha"ita"leearth. heseresourcesareheldincommon, not ownedprivately. 0hencommonly held property is transformed into private propertythis process is termed Qprivati.ation.Q:he resources that are currently "eing privati.ed inthe hands of the corporate share-holders of oilcompanies.7Ca'e "t#d5 66) -REAT R!2T VA..EY$ ENYA$ tea-*,#%8ing ,aDorer'@ur chosen economic system always was and still is$nanced "y the222222.hey did so $rst "y222222222222their land and their222222to naturalresources, then"y$nancingitse%pansionthrough222222 222222222222, 222222 222222, and unjust taJe' ontheirla"orandconsumption. &naddition, "yforcingthe poor to overpay for energy, food, and other "asicnecessities, the ;orth ensures povertyll deepen,ineK#a,itie' increase.7 "ER-E .ATOUCHE a#thor *rofe''or$ 2ran%e$ onAFDE--RO3T HA.VARO -ARC!A .!NERA