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The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time (平装)
by Jeffrey Sachs
| Category:
Poverty reduction, Poverty fighting, Globalization, Nonfiction |
| Market price: ¥ 178.00
MSL price:
¥ 168.00
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MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
The End of Poverty is a top-notch publication and likely the best and most straightforward tome of development economics ever written. |
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AllReviews |
1 Total 1 pages 10 items |
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Gordon C. Mccord (MSL quote), USA
<2007-05-18 00:00>
I would just like to clarify 2 issues regarding Mr. Zxerce's comment on U.S. development assistance.
First, using numbers from 2000 (as Mr. Zxerce does), the OECD reports that the U.S. gave only $7.4 billion in net official development assistance. Mr. Zxerce claims the government gave $22.6 billion (a number from a USAID report) which includes all money going to developing countries, most of which does not go towards development purposes (a lot goes to Israel; military education, training, and loans; and antiterrorism). The issue is not to focus on total government flows to developing countries, but to report how much of it is actually going towards development (to make investments in health, education, and infrastructure, for example). Prof. Sachs' recent Foreign Affairs piece "The Development Challenge" takes a very detailed look at how U.S. aid is used, showing how little actually makes it to the ground for real development.
Second, the USAID report that Mr. Zxerce's numbers come from claims that private giving to developing countries was $33.6 billion in 2002. However, this is misleading because $18 billion of this amount is individual remittances, which are not development aid at all but income transfers between family members in the United States and abroad. Counting remittances as development assistance would be tantamount to counting incomes of American expatriates sent back to the U.S. as international assistance from the rest of the world to the U.S.
I hope people take time to read the book carefully, as it will help clarify the issues of how much the United States actually gives, and how an increased American effort could help meet the Millennium Development Goals and make a safer and more prosperous world. |
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Eric D. Austrew (MSL quote), USA
<2007-05-18 00:00>
This book changed my outlook in two ways.
First, it redefined what I think of as poverty. For me and I'm sure for many others who haven't thought about it deeply, "poverty" called up images that ranged from trailer parks to ghettos to third-world sweatshops to famine stricken villages. When Sachs speaks of ending poverty he is referring to extreme poverty of famines and state failures only, and not the relative poverty found in affluent countries. While someone born into a ghetto may not have the same opportunities as someone born in a suburb, they are unlikely to die because of a lack of food, water, or shelter. In countries stricken by extreme poverty, by contrast, millions die each year because "they are too poor to live."
By concentrating on just this set of extremely poor people, Sachs usefully narrows the scope of the problem he wants to address. As a hard-nosed realist, I would take issue with anyone utopian enough to think that relative poverty can be eliminated, especially after the disastorous attempts to do just that by the Communist countries of the last century. But Sachs does not want to give every sweatshop worker a BMW or every trailer park dweller a diamond ring. He wants us to take on the task of restructuring the world so that death because of want no longer happens. It's something that we in the first world have proved is possible, since we have already done it for our own citizens.
This leads to the second way this book changed my outlook. Sachs spends the majority of the book showing how most of the extremely poor people of the world live in countries that simply do not have the capability of helping themselves. Most countries, even those in the third world, have entered the "virtous cycle" of capital accumulation and investment. But in the extremely poor countries all existing capital is consumed simply to stay alive. Indeed, in many cases the amount of capital per person is decreasing thanks to a growing population or environmental degredation. The problems that I had always thought of as the key factors to helping these countries, such as less corruption/better governance or culture factors like women's rights, are not at the root of poverty. In fact, given the in-depth explanations in this book I am now convinced that it is possible to have a perfectly governed, free, and equitable country that is nonetheless doomed to unending poverty and suffering.
The only way out of the poverty trap is an infusion of capital from outside to pay for basic infrastructure and development. That is where our task, and our moral responsibility, begins. If, like me, you always considered poverty an unfortunate but unavoidable condition of the world at large I urge you to read this book. It makes a clear and compelling case that if we commit ourselves we can make the world a radically better place. |
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Iago (MSL quote), USA
<2007-05-18 00:00>
In "The End of Poverty", Professor Jeffrey Sachs outlines his vision for eradicating poverty, hunger and disease. He makes the argument that this era may be the first one in human history with the ability to eliminate poverty. He places an emphasis on using appropriate techniques and technology to boost agriculture, upgrade educational institutions, improve healthcare and lay down the necessary infrastructure that would be instrumental in changing the state of poverty in the world today. The focus of his argument is the idea that with more money devoted to the problem, poverty can be eliminated.
One of the strengths of this book is its investigation into the root causes of poverty and the misunderstanding by the general public about poverty and those living in a state of poverty. With a lifetime of experiences under his belt, Sachs can intelligently comment on the state of poverty of every continent on the planet--he's literally investigated them all. He also paints a grim picture of the cost of inaction--a cost that is many-fold the cost of tackling the problem here and now.
However, there are some problems with the solutions presented in the book. While Sachs's goals are laudable, his implementation of the actions needed to attain said goals is flawed. He proposes more government involvement, yet in no time in the history of mankind has it been shown that governments act in any way but in their own self-interest. Governments support those who support it--the business sector and similarly empowered segments of the population. If alleviation of poverty has not been accomplished through governments in the past, how is it going to be accomplished now by those same institutions simply via influx of greater capital?
In addition, those institutions have been shown to be inefficient at best and often corrupt at worst. Bureaucracies, especially in developing nations, often divert the funds that are placed at their disposal for poverty eradication projects, to line their own coffers. Sachs fails to note that real progress, real change in the status of the poor has come through grass-roots organizations, NGOs and their like - they are the people who have committed their lives to the causes they work for.
Though I certainly recommend this book, I would say those interested in the subject should pick up, as a counter-point, "India Untouched: The Forgotten Face of Rural Poverty" by Dr. Abraham George in which he describes the leading role of NGOs in the process of poverty eradication. Melding some of the ideas presented by Professor Sachs with the solutions presented by Dr. George will give one a firm and realistic idea on how the world can truly "end poverty". |
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Pistol Pete (MSL quote), USA
<2007-05-18 00:00>
Professor Sachs gives a great tour of the world and its economic problems. He gives personal accounts of helping the economies of Bolivia, Poland, India, Russia and to a limited extent China. Most attempts at helping were successful (Russia, which had deeper and more entrenched problems, was a notable exception). Sachs gives sound advice on what works and what doesn't in really really poor countries. He also lays out how little it would take from America and other developed nations to make it all happen.
The one downside is that for Sachs' plan to work, foreign governments have to be willing to cooperate. It's kind of a Catch-22. The US is not willing to donate large amounts of money if it is used poorly, and foreign governments aren't going to be able to spend wisely if they don't have very much. But really - we are spending hundreds of billions fighting the war in Iraq to "help the Iraqi people". But we could help many more people much more efficiently if we just committed to do it.
Overall, one of the most interesting economics books I have ever read (and I have read a few). |
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Brian Houghtaling (MSL quote), USA
<2007-05-18 00:00>
Jeffrey Sachs provides a solid economic analysis of the causes of poverty and opens our minds to new solutions. This is not a simple text, however, it is very readable and those of us with a budding interest in international political economics will find it a thoroughly thought provoking read. Sachs provides a fresh set of tools by which to make sense of the many failed attempts at solving extreme poverty.
I have rated this book very high because it covers the economic aspects of poverty extremely well. Sachs' analysis does fail in one respect; it does not discuss poverty in a holistic sense. In his recent book, Too Small To Ignore, Dr. Wess Stafford presents a "poverty wheel" and he describes six spokes (economics, health, learning, environment, social, spiritual). While economics is a key factor, I fear we will be disappointed if we do not address the other spokes. |
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Stephen (MSL quote), UK
<2007-05-18 00:00>
Jeffrey Sachs brings incredibly persuasive arguments, backed up by intelligent reasoning and empirical evidence, to convince the reader that change really is possible. This book should be read by everyone.
Sachs goes into great detail explaining the underlying factors behind poverty in different regions of the world and outlines plans on how it can be attacked according to local circumstances. He includes frank criticisms of institutions like the IMF and gives well-deserved credit to the more than 1 billion people surviving on less than $1 a day. He implores governments of rich countries not just to do more, but to do what they have already promised to do, and shows how it is in everyone's interests to help.
This book is not a manifesto for the anti-globalization movement and neither does it unreservedly sing the praise of free trade. It highlights the struggle of the poor and shows what we can do to fix it. It is a book for optimists, but surely it is worth being optimistic if we can really end extreme poverty in the next twenty years. |
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B.Sudhakar Shenoy (MSL quote), USA
<2007-05-18 00:00>
This is one of the most insightful works on poverty written not from an economist's theoretical toolkit, but a practical and realistic solution based on ground reality. Prof Sachs understands poverty , especially extreme poverty by actually visiting and living with those 1.1 billion human beings living in misery, struggling to keep their body and soul together. Nearly 20000 people die every day due to hunger and disease, and this is preventable, if only the rich nations contribute just 0.7 % of their incomes to rescue these less fortunate souls. What is needed according to the author is that those trapped in extreme poverty should be helped to survive and pushed to the first rung of the ladder of development so that they are given an opportunity to climb up towards a better living in a sustainable manner.
External intervention is a must since there is absolutely no other possibility of helping these people in the absence of adequate capital at the disposal of the governments of the poor countries. Prof Sachs also makes a passionate appeal for write off of debts of poor nations by donor nations as an immediate measure. IMF and the World Bank may not agree, he argues, because they are staffed by economists educated mostly from the best universities of the developed world, whose knowledge about poverty is theoretical at best.
The book deserves full credits on the following counts :
- A clear definition of poverty and its global severity
- A clinical approach to economics; treating poor countries the way a paediatrician would treat a sick child
- A good description of how the poor are trapped in the vicious cycle based on his actual observation in the remotest villages of Africa and Asia
- The concept of capital, investments and development to aid in better understanding of the book
- The need for capital infusion, or targeted investments from the developed world
- How a small contribution can make a huge difference to end poverty in our generation
- Excellent discussion on the Millennium Development Goals of the UN
- Argument against the simplistic and biased approach of the rich against poor countries alleging them of mismanagement and corruption
- Simple but highly insightful calculations and illustrations to substantiate his arguments
Prof Sachs is truly committed to the noble cause of eradicating poverty and at times becomes emotional and impatient. This is a book on mass salvation and the time for action is NOW. |
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Bob Soro (MSL quote), USA
<2007-05-18 00:00>
This is truly an excellent book. I follow poverty reduction closely and it's amazing what Jeffrey Sachs has done for the issues. In the typically low-profile role of economist he stands out among poverty reductions handful of titans and is arguably bigger than Clint Borgen and Bono right now. This book should be required reading for anyone with a pulse. |
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David E. McClean (MSL quote), USA
<2007-05-18 00:00>
This book should be read by everyone interested in "development" - a word with economic implications to be sure, but which also carries meanings far beyond economics as generally understood. "Development" means the provision of the tools and opportunities for human flourishing, and that is not limited to merely scratching together the basic necessities of life but entails entering into activities that represent the highest forms of human achievement and potential - the life of the mind, the life of the spirit, the life of cultural production, the life free from fear of abject poverty and destitution. Unlike many in the development field, Sachs seems to know this. He is no mere economist.
The pleasure of this book is that one may read it knowing that one is not reading the rants of an ideologue, but the wisdom of a thoughtful, balanced analyst who has done a yeoman's job of presenting sane, balanced, and useful information, free of any agenda save for that of assisting the neediest among us. One is in the hands of an economist of the highest credentials. One is in the hands of a lover of humanity. One is in the hands of a humble toiler seeking to transform the world. One is in the hands of someone who has gone where few have gone, and so has the credentials to provide us with dispatches and reports from the heart of poverty, war and nihilism.
The Foreword by Bono is also a gem of writing. It is concise, shows deep commitment, and is filled with awe and hope. It is needlessly self-deprecating, for Bono himself is an important figure in the development arena.
Read this book. Then, read it again! Then make sure that others read it. |
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Warwick Rowell (MSL quote), USA
<2007-05-18 00:00>
A captivating, well written book on economics!! The irony is that he proposes a workable solution for ending poverty which has been eluding the first world. Until now, the first world's proposed solutions for them are what it needs - less wasteful consumer spending, endless ramping up of what is "needed" and so on.
As Bill Mollison (Permaculture) says, we will have to learn a lot from the Third World. I urge Prof Sachs to start now on his next book: The End of Consumerism. A tentative subtitle: How to save the world without surrendering anything important from your lifestyle. All it needs is a paradigm shift!
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1 Total 1 pages 10 items |
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