Global Stratification Chapter 9 Global Stratification

Changing Terminology Old terminology First world–Industrial rich countries Second world–Less industrial socialist countries Third world–Non-industrial poor countries © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Changing Terminology Problems with old terminology After the Cold War, the second world no longer existed Third World is too economically diverse to be meaningful © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Changing Terminology New terminology High-income–Nations with the highest standard of living Middle-income–Somewhat poorer nations with economic development typical for the world © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Changing Terminology Low-income–Nations with lowest productivity and extensive poverty The extent of global inequality is much greater than these comparisons suggest Well-off people in rich countries live “worlds apart” from poorest in low-income countries © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

High-Income Countries First to develop during industrial revolution two centuries ago Enjoy 80% of the world’s income More income means control of world’s financial markets © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

High-Income Countries Control of financial markets means control of other countries Examples: United States, Western Europe, Japan, Australia, Canada, etc. © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Distribution of Global Income and Wealth Sources: Author calculations based on Davies et al. (2009) and Milanovic (2009, 2011). © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Economic Development in Global Perspective Source: Data from United Nations Development Programme (2011). © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Middle-Income Countries About 55% of the population lives in or near urban areas and have industrial jobs About 45% live in rural areas & engage in agricultural activities -- a general lack of Access to schools, medical care, & safe water Examples: Eastern European countries, Latin America, and some African countries © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Low-Income Countries Mostly poor, rural economies Agrarian, with some industry Life expectancy is very short Hunger, disease, & unsafe housing shape the lives of the world’s poorest people Examples: Africa, and much of Asia © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Relative Share of Income and Population by Level of Economic Development Source: Based on Population Reference Bureau (2011) and United Nations Development Programme (2011). © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Severity of Poverty Poverty in poor countries is more severe than it is in rich countries The United Nations found that: Norway had the highest “quality of life” rating, followed by Australia and Canada The United States ranked 6th Niger had the lowest © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Severity of Poverty Relative poverty People lack resources that others take for granted This sort of poverty exists in every society, rich or poor © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Severity of Poverty Absolute poverty A life-threatening lack of resources One-third or more of the people in low-income countries experience poverty at this level © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Odds of Surviving to the Age of Sixty-Five in Global Perspective Source: United Nations (2009). © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Extent of Poverty Is poverty life-threatening? In some African & Asian countries, half of annual deaths are children under age of 10 Every 10 minutes, 100 people die of hunger, about 25,000 people a day 1.4 billion people suffer from chronic hunger in the world © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Poverty and Children Poverty and children 100 million children in poor countries forced to work the streets (e.g., beg, steal, sell sex) 100 million children are orphaned or have left their families and live on the streets Many girls, with little or no access to medical assistance, become pregnant © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Poverty and Children 50 million street children are found in Latin American cities In Darfur (Sudan), impoverished children are forced to join armed groups, provide Physical labor without pay, and work as sex slaves © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Women, Slavery, and Poverty In all societies, a woman’s work is unrecognized, undervalued, and underpaid Sweatshop workers are mostly women 70% of the world’s 1.4 billion people living near absolute poverty are women © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Women, Slavery, and Poverty Chattel slavery–One person owns another. Child slavery–A more common form of bondage Debt bondage–Employers hold workers to pay debts © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Women, Slavery, and Poverty Servile forms of marriage–Women married against their will or forced into prostitution Human Trafficking – third largest source of profit to organized crime © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Percentage of Births Attended by Skilled Health Staff In the United States, most women give birth with the help of medical professionals, but this is usually not the case in low-income nations. Source: World Bank (2010). © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Human Trafficking The movement of men, women, and children from one place to another For the purpose of performing forced labor People lured to a new country & promise of a job, then forced to become prostitutes Or farm laborers or people adopt foreign children & force them to work in sweatshops © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Explanations of Global Poverty Technology ¼ of the people in low-income countries use human or animal power to farm land Population growth Population for poor countries in Africa doubles every 25 years © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Explanations of Global Poverty Cultural patterns People resist innovations; accept slavery as a way of life Social stratification Low-income countries distribute wealth very unequally © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Correlates of Global Poverty Gender inequality Raising living standards means improving women’s standing Global power relationships Colonialism Some nations enrich themselves through political & economic control of other nations © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Correlates of Global Poverty Neocolonialism “New” form of global power relationships involves not direct political control but economic exploitation By multinational corporations Multinational corporation A huge business that operates in many countries © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Modernization Theory Historical perspective Centuries ago, the entire world was poor Exploration, trade, & the industrial revolution transformed Western Europe & North America © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Modernization Theory Cultural perspective Weber: Protestant Reformation reshaped traditional Catholicism Individualism replaced the traditional emphasis on family and community © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Rostow’s Stages of Modernization Traditional stage Changing traditional views Take-off stage Use of talents and imaginations © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Rostow’s Stages of Modernization Drive to technological maturity Diversified economy takes over High mass consumption Mass production stimulates consumption © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Role of Rich Nations Controlling population Exporting birth control and educating people on its importance Increasing food production Use of new hybrid seeds, modern irrigation methods, the use of chemicals and pesticides © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Role of Rich Nations Introducing industrial technology Machinery and information must be shared if shifts in economies are to happen Providing foreign aid Money can be used for equipment necessary for change © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Critical Evaluation Modernization simply hasn’t happened in many nations Fails to recognize how rich nations benefit from the status quo of poor nations Fails to see that international relations affect all nations © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Critical Evaluation Ethnocentric: Holds up the richest nations as the standard to judge other societies Blames global poverty on the poor societies © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Dependency Theory Historical perspective People living in poor countries were better off in the past than they are now Economic position of rich & poor are linked © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Dependency Theory Importance of colonialism Europeans colonized much west, south & east African slave trade is the most brutal form of human exploitation Neocolonialism is the “essence” of the modern capitalistic world economy © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Africa’s Colonial History For more than a century, most of Africa was colonized by European nations, with France dominating in the northwest region of the continent and Great Britain dominating in the east and south. © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Wallerstein’s Capitalist World Economy Today’s world economy is rooted in the colonization that began 500 years ago Rich countries form the core of the World economy being enriched by raw materials from around the world © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Wallerstein’s Capitalist World Economy Low-income countries are the periphery Providing inexpensive labor and a market for industrial products Middle-income countries form the semiperiphery, having a closer tie to the core © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Wallerstein’s Ideas World economy benefits rich nations by generating profits & harms rest of world by Perpetuating poverty; world economy make poor nations dependent on rich Narrow, export-oriented economies: Poor countries produce only a few crops for export to rich countries © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Wallerstein’s Ideas Lack of industrial capacity: Foreign debt: Poor countries sell raw materials to rich countries, then buy finished products at high prices Foreign debt: Poor countries owe rich countries $1 trillion dollars, including hundreds of billions to the United States © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Critical Evaluation Wrongly treats wealth as zero-sum game; blame rich nations for global poverty Too simplistic citing capitalism as the single factor Repressive corrupt regimes & cultural tradition More protest than policy Thinly disguised call for world socialism © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

The World’s Increasing Economic Inequality Source: United Nations Development Programme (2010). © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.