politics for the 99%

Published on The Bullet, Socialist Project’s E-Bulletin No. 1283, by Benjamin Selwyn, July 20, 2016.

Reorienting value generated within ‘global poverty chains’ is essential to improve the lives of an impoverished world labour force.

Contemporary global capitalism is characterized by extreme wealth concentration and a rapidly expanding and largely impoverished global labour force. Mainstream institutions such as the World Bank and International Labour Organization encourage integration into global value chains as a development strategy that, they claim, will reduce poverty. In reality, employment within these chains generates new forms of worker poverty and contributes to global wealth concentration. That is why they should be labelled global poverty chains.

Global inequality has never been greater. For example, the wealth of the world’s richest 62 people, who between them have more wealth than half of the world’s population, rose by 44 per cent between 2010 and 2015. Over the same period the wealth of the bottom 50 per cent of humanity fell by approximately 38 per cent.

Very large numbers, perhaps the majority, of the world’s labour force is poor. In 2010 there were approximately 942 million working poor (almost 1 in 3 workers globally living on under $2 [U.S.] a day). However, these figures are a significant underestimate.

Measuring Poverty: … //

… North-South Logic: … //

… (full text).

Links:

Childcare costs denying working families a good living standard – study, on The Guardian, by Patrick Butler, July 20, 2016;

Bank Of England Releases Major Paper on Blockchain and Central Banking, on Blockchain News, by Richard Kastelein, le 20 juillet 2016;

We’re About to Live in a World of Economic Hunger Games, on TIME, by Rana Foroohar, July 19, 2016;

Rebuilding Together is looking for takers, on , by Eugene Curtin, July 19, 2016;

How to survive – physically and mentally – on an artist’s income, on ArtsHub, by Madeleine Dore, July 19, 2016;

The Hidden Risk to Sovereign Bonds, on Bloomberg, by Mark Gilbert, July 19, 2016;

L’horizon de la transformation sociale devrait être une société du temps libre étendant le champ de la gratuité, dans NPA, le 19 juillet 2016;

Singapore money-laundering probe targets banks, on Shanghai Daily, July 18, 2016;

Université d’été, en vrac, dans NPA, le 18 juillet 2016;

Canada: Premier versement de l’Allocation canadienne pour les enfants mercredi, dans métro, par Fannie Olivier, le 18 juillet 2016;

Fatih Zingal und Cem Özdemir über den versuchten Militärputsch in der Türkei, 37.12 min, von Minotheras, bei Anne Will am 17. Juli 2016;

Von Deutschland+Russland:

• über die Angst der Angelsachsen vor dem Bündnis Deutschland+ Russland, 14.16 min, … mit dem Ex-Bundesminister Andreas von Bülow am 16. Juli 2015;
• Ein Traumbündnis der Weltgeschichte – Deutschland + Russland, 3.06 min, mit dem Philosophen Peter Feist am 16. Juli 2015 im Gespräch mit Michael Vogt;
• Putin außer sich: Wie können die USA es wagen, Russland Menschenrechtsverletzungen vorzuwerfen, 3.06 min, … gesprochen am 20. Dezember 2012. Russischer Staatspräsident Wladimir Putin warf den USA vor, eine Politik der Doppelstandards und Heuchelei in Bezug auf Russland zu betreiben;

Global Capitalism: Monthly Economic Update July 2016, 90.39 min, uploaded by Democracy At Work, July 14, 2016;

Der Brexit ist ein Glücksfall für Europa – Prof. Max Otte, 17.09 min, von Minotheras, bei Markus Lanz am 29. Juni 2016;

Die Todesschützen der Hochfinanz, 26.58 min, von FSchusterTV, mit Daniele Ganser am 5. Juni 2016;
Film: das Maidan Massaker, auf YouTube-search;

… and this:

• Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door – Avril Lavigne, 3.01 min, uploaded by MrSchulz … and many more in autoplay.