The Blu Ribbon Revolution [rare books]

The origins of poverty have been classified as historical, environmental, social, cultural and political each with its own impact. Colonialism, slavery, war, and conquest have led to long term impacts globally but most of all in African and Asian nations.

In terms of Environmental causes, nature plays a vital role as harvests from forests, fisheries, and farms are a primary source of rural income and a fallback when other sources of employment falter. However the author highlights environmental imbalance can be disastrous as the nature of poverty is largely rural. UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)^[1] has pointed out that, in the world's poorest countries, more than 75 percent of the population lives in rural areas and depends on agriculture for work and income. Any environmental adversity in such a case can have long term consequences.

The Multidimensional nature of poverty can be assessed by the fact that Manikan states that 80 percent of the world's population lives in countries where income differentials have widened. The UNDP's 2007 Human Development Report highlights this in the book with an estimate that the poorest 40 percent of the world's population account for only 5 percent of global income. On the other hand, the richest 20 percent account for 75 percent of world income.^[2]

Considering economic factors such as half the world's workforce toiling in unstable, insecure jobs,^[3] Manikan states children, especially girls, suffer major health and education setbacks. He states it would be well worth to ponder the fact that statistics state around 24,000 children die every day from preventable causes – many from diseases like measles, diphtheria, and tetanus.

Political factors such as unrest can also to lead to poverty issues such as displacement. The author mentions that Southern and Western Asia and sub-Saharan Africa are home to the largest populations of refugees. By the end of 2010 more than 43 million people were displaced by conflict or persecution, both within and outside the borders of their own countries as per UN HCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees).^[4]

He also discusses the role of women in politics. As per the statistics quoted in 2008 women held at least 40 percent of the seats in five parliaments: Rwanda leads the way at 48.8 percent, followed by Sweden (47 percent), Cuba (43.2 percent), Finland (41.5 percent), and Argentina (40 percent).^[5]

The author covers views of economists and historians on creating measures for poverty and the complexities that follow.