Philanthropy alone can’t end poverty
In fact, ending global deprivation through foreign aid to poorer countries cannot solve the problem
The writer is a development anthropologist. He teaches at George Washington University
During religious occasions, particularly Ramazan or Eid, magnanimity within our country usually goes into overdrive. However, it is to be noted that Pakistanis generally are philanthropic people, and acts of individual giving do not halt during the rest of the year either. Of course, philanthropic giving is not uniquely a Pakistani or a Muslim phenomenon. People, who are billionaires as well as those with much more modest means, like to donate money to different causes, when and where they can. However, whether this philanthropic giving is enough to address the problems of deprivation and disparities we see around the world remains a problematic assertion.
The giddying amounts of resources committed by billionaires such as Warren Buffet, Mark Zuckerberg or Bill Gates do make one more confident about the potential of individual philanthropists to help bring an end to human misery around the world. Moreover, multitudes of average citizens in the West regularly donate funds to global fundraising appeals, where modest donations of a few dollars a week are sought to help save the life of a sick mother or child, helps send a little girl to school or provides nutritious meals to starving families. Faith-based giving is also important and has wide appeal in our own country, as well as in most other countries.
Along with the ever-growing philanthropic contributions of people from different walks of life to various humanitarian causes, there is also understandable disgruntlement when we continue seeing glaring examples of human suffering, despite all the supposed efforts being made to address such problems.
It is understandable if people are losing faith in the idea that poverty can end and the human development goals that entities like the UNDP espouses will ever be fulfilled. Unfortunately, individual giving to an array of worthy causes, whether in the form of meagre contributions by the multitude or the more substantive donations made by billionaires, is not enough.
In fact, ending global deprivation through foreign aid to poorer countries cannot solve the problem, lest we simultaneously begin to realise and address the interconnected, structural issues that create and maintain disparities and deprivations. These underlying causes include unjust trade deals, climate change, tax havens and the lack of investment in public services. We still live in a world where big business can lobby populist leaders, who in turn deploy ‘divide and rule’ tactics to help sustain exploitative supply chains which underpin the bulk of the prevailing global production system. When blue collar workers see their standards of living stagnate or drop in the developed world, they end up blaming immigrants or poorly paid workers in the developing world for stealing away their jobs, instead of taking a stand against exorbitant profiteering by big businesses.
Those with an interest in the status quo will not bring about change. Change must be demanded through civic and political action. Civil society in the developed countries needs to align itself more effectively with that across the developing world, to ramp up campaigns concerning the underlying causes of poverty. There have been some sporadic campaigns drawing attention to unfair trade laws against unsustainable debt burdens of poor countries or by naming and shaming brands for their attitude towards workers and the environment. However, the time has come for drawing attention to the interrelated problems of poverty creation and the need for systemic change to address it.
There is a need to draw attention to the relationship between ordinary citizens, big corporations and global elites. The new narrative of resistance must point out how the privatisation of public services and the agenda of neoliberal reforms have impacted the lives of people around the world. The rise in support for politicians like Jeremy Corbyn or Bernie Sanders is encouraging. Countries in our part of the world also need similar voices, of politicians and civil society actors, to be amplified. Voices which are less populist or self-aggrandising and more open to the need for structural changes within the domestic and international world order.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 14th, 2017.
The giddying amounts of resources committed by billionaires such as Warren Buffet, Mark Zuckerberg or Bill Gates do make one more confident about the potential of individual philanthropists to help bring an end to human misery around the world. Moreover, multitudes of average citizens in the West regularly donate funds to global fundraising appeals, where modest donations of a few dollars a week are sought to help save the life of a sick mother or child, helps send a little girl to school or provides nutritious meals to starving families. Faith-based giving is also important and has wide appeal in our own country, as well as in most other countries.
Along with the ever-growing philanthropic contributions of people from different walks of life to various humanitarian causes, there is also understandable disgruntlement when we continue seeing glaring examples of human suffering, despite all the supposed efforts being made to address such problems.
It is understandable if people are losing faith in the idea that poverty can end and the human development goals that entities like the UNDP espouses will ever be fulfilled. Unfortunately, individual giving to an array of worthy causes, whether in the form of meagre contributions by the multitude or the more substantive donations made by billionaires, is not enough.
In fact, ending global deprivation through foreign aid to poorer countries cannot solve the problem, lest we simultaneously begin to realise and address the interconnected, structural issues that create and maintain disparities and deprivations. These underlying causes include unjust trade deals, climate change, tax havens and the lack of investment in public services. We still live in a world where big business can lobby populist leaders, who in turn deploy ‘divide and rule’ tactics to help sustain exploitative supply chains which underpin the bulk of the prevailing global production system. When blue collar workers see their standards of living stagnate or drop in the developed world, they end up blaming immigrants or poorly paid workers in the developing world for stealing away their jobs, instead of taking a stand against exorbitant profiteering by big businesses.
Those with an interest in the status quo will not bring about change. Change must be demanded through civic and political action. Civil society in the developed countries needs to align itself more effectively with that across the developing world, to ramp up campaigns concerning the underlying causes of poverty. There have been some sporadic campaigns drawing attention to unfair trade laws against unsustainable debt burdens of poor countries or by naming and shaming brands for their attitude towards workers and the environment. However, the time has come for drawing attention to the interrelated problems of poverty creation and the need for systemic change to address it.
There is a need to draw attention to the relationship between ordinary citizens, big corporations and global elites. The new narrative of resistance must point out how the privatisation of public services and the agenda of neoliberal reforms have impacted the lives of people around the world. The rise in support for politicians like Jeremy Corbyn or Bernie Sanders is encouraging. Countries in our part of the world also need similar voices, of politicians and civil society actors, to be amplified. Voices which are less populist or self-aggrandising and more open to the need for structural changes within the domestic and international world order.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 14th, 2017.