A new understanding of poverty – Blog Action Day

Today is Blog Action Day, which we’ve signed up to, and the theme is poverty. We’ve written a fair bit about the topic here on Make Wealth History, and we’ve also written a good deal about the credit crunch.

Minister for International Development Douglas Alexander put those two together this week. “We are right to focus on the impact of the economic crisis on our own countries,” he reminded the World Bank, “but we cannot ignore the rights of every person on this planet to health, education, shelter and security.”

He makes a good point. We have enjoyed immense wealth for a long time. It would be a tragedy if the current squeeze turns us away from those who are still living in real poverty.

Instead of thinking even less about the poor, we might want to consider them more. The current economic crisis could give us a new understanding of globalisation – for decades, we have made ourselves rich at the expense of others. In the last few months, we’ve come to realise that others have been making themselves richer at our expense too. Bankers and traders have played fast and loose with our money, failed, and left us poorer while taking home enormous wealth for themselves.

Although this is inexcusable greed, it’s also a taste of what globalisation has meant for much of the world all along. We may be indignant, angry and upset with the City. Did we feel that sense of injustice when it was others that were impoverished? When our trade policies and tied aid deprived the poor in Africa and Asia?

We may feel betrayed by the wealthy bankers who have let us down. Let’s not let this betrayal drive us to further selfishness, or use it as an excuse to give less. Let’s take this new understanding and stand with them instead. Let’s repay evil with good, and show greed for what it is with a new-found generosity.

To do something positive about poverty right now, click over to Kiva and make a micro-loan. It’ll take you five minutes, and you’ll know the borrower’s name and business, making a real contribution to a real person.