The statistics of wealth and poverty always trigger debates and so the recent figures of their levels all over the world have led to much discussion.
The global anti-poverty charity organisation Oxfam International has released a report on the trend of increasing concentration of wealth in the hands of fewer and fewer people, and the facts and figures in the report are cause for concern.
The report shows that the share of global wealth owned by 1 per cent of the world’s population increased from 44 per cent in 2009 to 48 per cent in 2014. If the trend continues, by next year, one per cent of the population will own more than 50 per cent of the world’s wealth. Just 80 richest individuals own as much the total wealth of about 3.5 billion poorest people. More than a billion people have income less than $1.25 a day.
Inequality has always existed in the world ever since ownership of private property emerged and economies got organised at individual, family and other levels. Economic, social, intellectual and other kinds or inequalities are natural to human condition.
Some degree of inequality may even be necessary to bring about the best in individuals and to infuse societies with a healthy dynamism. But what has been predicted for next year will be a turning point, as such an imbalance has never been seen at any time in recorded economic history.
The rich-poor gap has always been widening but the report says that inequality grew at a faster pace since 2008. This shows that during the time of economic slowdown and disruption, the rich grew richer and the poor grew poorer. The trend is the same in wealthy countries and in poor countries. In India, the wealth of 35 billionaires is more than that of 800 million people.
Poverty and inequality raise economic, social and moral issues and they have always been at the heart of ideologies, government plans and programmes, social campaigns and even individual initiatives. Increasing inequality is socially disruptive and politically destabilising.
The turmoil, militancy and even terrorism in parts of the world, have even been explained in terms of income and wealth disparities. So, it is the responsibility of governments and political and social leadership to adopt policies and programmes which ensure that there is equity and justice in distribution of wealth.
Wealth and political power often go together and that is an unwholesome combination. The situation where the rich will inherit the earth is dangerous for all societies.