Book Review: The Bottom Billion
argumentative Essay
1538 words
Throughout this paper I am going to summarize Paul Colliers’s book, “The Bottom Billion”. Next, I will relate Collier’s argument to three key concepts; failed/failing states, Globalization, and the World Trade Organization (WTO). Secondly, I will critically evaluate three of the Collier’s weaknesses in his book. The first critique I have is his disbelief that democracy could fix the problem of corrupt governing in the bottom billion countries. The second critique that I have is his idea that military intervention is a necessity in order to get the bottom billion countries flourishing. My last critique is about his idea that the bottom billion countries constantly declining will directly correlate with our children in the United States facing an alarmingly divided world and all its consequences. Finally, I will conclude the book review and why I think his conclusion may be volatile. Collier’s thesis is basically why poor countries are poor and what can first world countries as in the United States do about it. He breaks the book into five parts. The first part deals with defining what the actual issue is and he labels it “Falling Behind and Falling Apart”. The second part is talking about four traps that keep the bottom billion in their dilemma. He breaks it down with the conflict trap, the natural resource trap, the landlocked with bad neighbors trap, and the bad governance in a small country trap. The third part talks about globalization. Collier believes that Globalization is part of the reason why the bottom billion countries are continuing to sink. Part four of the book deals with strategies that he believes will help fix the major problems of the bottom billion. Collier breaks this into four topics: Aid to the rescue, ... ... middle of paper ... ...ve significant trading agreements that the United States desperately depends on. Collier completely underestimates the United States with this belief that this country depends on the flourishing of the bottom billion countries. In conclusion, Collier thoroughly explains his reasons behind why the bottom billion countries are poor. His arguments covered a variety of the course concepts like internationalism, failed state, Globalization, and economic forces. However, after critical evaluation, it is clear that Collier ignored and underestimated several of these concepts. Works Cited Boyer, Mark A., Natalie Florea. Hudson, and Michael J. Butler. Global Politics: Engaging a Complex World. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2013. Print. Collier, Paul. The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries Are failing and What Can Be Done about It. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2007. Print.
In this essay, the author
- Summarizes paul colliers' book, "the bottom billion" and outlines his criticisms of the book.
- Explains that collier's thesis is basically why poor countries are poor and what can first world countries as in the united states do about it.
- Analyzes how collier's book is dealing with failing states or, in terms of boyer, "the bottom billion". he firmly believes that it will take approximately fifty-nine years for a country to get out of their present condition.
- Analyzes how collier believes that globalization is one of the problems in keeping the bottom billion countries in the bind.
- Explains the concept of the world trade organization (wto) in collier's book. the organization implements and enforces the gatt and mediates trade-related disputes.
- Opines that collier misses the point of democracy by assuming that it would not help the bottom billion countries' natural resources.
- Disagrees with collier's idea that military intervention will be needed in order to help the bottom billion countries.
- Disagrees with collier's idea that since the bottom billion countries are doing so badly, our children in the united states will face an alarmingly divided world and all of its consequences.
- Concludes that collier explains why the bottom billion countries are poor, but he ignored and underestimated several of these concepts.
- Opines that boyer, mark a., natalie florea. hudson, and michael j. butler. global politics: engaging a complex world.
- Explains collier, paul, the bottom billion: why the poorest countries are failing and what can be done about it.
Related
- analytical
- opinion
- explanatory
- Book Review: The Bottom Billion by Paul Collieranalytical essayPaul Collier’s book is about the future of the world. Most of the world is on the positive trajectory set by growth and prosperity. The 21st Century is the age of the middle class. For most of the world, things are looking up. However, Collier is concerned with a group of countries that are not part of this trajectory. Collier is concerned with approximately 58 countries that constitute about one billion people, or 20 percent of the earth’s population (Collier 7). This “bottom billion” group belongs to countries that are not progressing with the rest of the world’s pace; in fact, they seem to be diverging and falling apart when everyone else around them are growing. The purpose of the book is to show these countries are, in fact, diverging. He shows them caught in four different “traps.” After proving this, Collier has the challenge of making the case for reform and what can be done to fix these countries and put them on the course towards growth and prosperity. Finally, Collier has to show why the western world should care about supporting these countries and reversing their decline and how their current poor trajectory represents a drain on the global economy and security environment. The Bottom Billion is written for a broad audience; essentially all citizens of democratic countries. Collier encourages action by all levels but recommendations are made for policymakers in G8 countries that are responsible and interested in achieving improvement for impoverished countries.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that paul collier's book is about the future of the world. he is concerned with 58 countries that constitute about one billion people, which are diverging and falling apart when everyone else is growing.
- Analyzes collier's argument that all bottom billion countries are stuck in at least one of four developmental traps — conflict, natural resources, landlocked with bad neighbors, and bad governance in a small country.
- Analyzes collier's argument that the bottom billion pose a real security and economic drain against the rest of the world. the realist view would agree that it is in the developed countries’ best interests to insure the success of these failed states.
- Analyzes collier's analysis of the state in terms of individual conflict traps, pointing out there are more trade schemes than countries and the average african country is in four, usually incompatible, arrangements.
- Analyzes how collier's argument touches on the idea of state sovereignty, which is a difficult subject because infringing upon another state’s sovereignty is not desirable.
- Analyzes how collier's book, the bottom billion, lacks a formal citations and reference section while avoiding wordy statistical analyses. economic data on the bottom billion are unreliable and patchy at best.
- Argues that collier's book portrays the second weakness of not considering environmentally responsible methods for encouraging bottom billion nations to participate in the global marketplace.
- Opines that collier's argument is about privileged trade against asian markets for bottom billion countries. they argue for export diversification aided by tariffs lower than asians.
- Opines that collier's book is an excellent survey of how diverging countries of the world are stuck in their traps and potential avenues for action.
- Explains that the bottom billion: why the poorest countries are failing and what can be done about it. oxford: oxford university press, 2007.
1817 wordsRead More - Poverty In Paul Collier's 'The Bottom Billion'analytical essayPaul Collier’s The Bottom Billion, originally published in 2007, details his personal theory of why the poorest countries in the world, or the bottom billion, continue to see little to no economic growth on their perpetual cycle of poverty. Collier gained years of experience in the field of global poverty as the director of the research department at the World Bank, and as a professor at both Oxford and Harvard. His comprehensive theory, developed after nearly 35 years of research, outlines four “traps” which make it extremely difficult for many countries to escape poverty: conflict, natural resources, geographic location, and bad governance. Even if a country is able to escape one of these development traps, they face an even larger problem: “the global market is now far more hostile to new entrants than it was in the 1980’s” (Collier 6). Therefore, Collier’s main argument is that these traps have held many countries back just enough to the point where true growth and development is nearly impossible.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes paul collier's the bottom billion, which details his personal theory of why the poorest countries in the world continue to see little to no economic growth on their perpetual cycle of poverty.
- Analyzes collier's explanation of the four traps and explains why beginning development now is much harder than doing so in the past. globalization has been successful in creating growth for many other countries, but impairs the bottom billion.
- Analyzes how collier describes the many instruments that can be used as catalysts for economic growth in the bottom billion.
- Analyzes how collier concludes his analysis of the bottom billion by summarizing the reason why it is so hard to promote change.
- Analyzes how collier's argument in the bottom billion directly connects to what we have studied in class.
- Explains that collier discusses the effects of military intervention on conflict, and its subsequent impact on the economic growth of the poorest nations.
- Analyzes collier's argument about the impact of environment on regional or national poverty in the bottom billion.
- Analyzes collier's analysis of the bottom billion rather objectively. he denounces communist economic policies, stating that mao made his own invaluable contribution by dropping dead.
- Analyzes how collier is effective in conveying his argument to the viewer. he is qualified to act as an authority on the matter and is a professor specializing in african economics at oxford.
- Analyzes how collier's book is effective in explaining the topic through data collected over years of research of the bottom billion. the connections between conflict, geographic location, and military intervention are similar to the conclusions of our class on the same issues.
- Opines that collier's book was effective in its purpose of exposing the issues facing the bottom billion and educating readers on its causes.
1518 wordsRead More - Fair Trade Will Put an End to World Povertyopinion essayIt is sad that at the beginning of the 21st century so many of the world’s population is living under abject poverty. The problem has less to do with the poor people themselves but more to do with the way the world’s economy and trade relations are organized. As many of the leaders from poor countries have often said, “we do not want aid, we want fair trade”. It is only through fair trade that the poor of the world can be assisted to grow out of their poverty.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the economic under-developed countries of asia, africa, and latin america live on less than $2 a day, while in the united states, the minimum wage is approximately $6 per hour.
- Analyzes how children in the first world have access to things they don't even know exist, such as the internet.
- Opines that poverty is a serious problem that needs to be recognized, addressed, and resolved.
- Explains that the distribution of wealth in the world is terribly unjust. in 1960, the income of 20% of the richest countries was 30 times greater than that of 60% of poor countries.
- Opines that it is up to the leaders of the world to decide on how to improve the substandard living conditions of third world residents.
- Opines that the problem is more to do with the way the world's economy and trade relations are organized.
2067 wordsRead More - Trap The Poverty Trapanalytical essayEconomist Jeffery Sachs says we should think of poverty and development as a ladder, with developing nations at the bottom and wealthy nations at the top. However, far below that ladder is the is a trap, the poverty trap, “any self-reinforcing mechanism which causes poverty to persist” (Azariadis & Stachurski, 2004, p. 33). The trap not just what happens when nations fall into poverty, but rather a cycle where once you fall into deep enough poverty it becomes nearly impossible to climb back out, countries whose resources and GDP are so low and deficiencies are so high they cannot be balanced, without outside aid.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the poverty trap is more complex than just dealing with farmers as disease, geography, and government also play major roles.
- Opines that even foreign aid can't cure poverty alone, but it can help.
- Argues that the poverty trap is a self-reinforcing mechanism that causes poverty to persist.
- Explains that sub-saharan africa is one of the poorest countries in the world. it has depleted all its resources and people are starving, sick, and dying.
1075 wordsRead More - The Dependency Theory: The Dependency Theoryexplanatory essayImpoverished nations, typically hold very little power in the international system. Therefore, from the realism viewpoint, they are of little importance. They are not typically a threat militarily or socially. However, there is a strong desire in the realism view for balance and order in the international system and an impoverished nation with an unpredictable economy could be seen as a
In this essay, the author
- Explains that wealthier nations see poorer nations as a buffet. they take what they need or want and leave all the rest without plans of replenishing the supply. this is seen as an "exploitive" relationship that often results in war.
- Opines that the dependency theory is a very different approach than the others, but it risks being too narrow and does not account for other types of international relationships. power is at the center of this theory.
- Opines that international security is an issue that is always relevant, but is recently dominating the news cycle. the power players in the international system are being forced to come together to combat this unrest.
- Explains the "golden arches theory" that pertains to international political economies. the theory essentially says that developed democratic countries are less likely to go to war.
- Explains trade restrictions are increasing in light of recent terrorist attacks, and policies and trade agreements are being reviewed. countries are forced to examine their policies on accepting refugees and decide the effects on their nation considering the security, social and economic components of the equation.
- Opines that the international system is on shaky ground. there are attempts being made to address and counteract threats and corruption.
- Explains that global poverty is a problem with deep roots. the problem lies behind simple financial status, and extends across many dimensions.
- Opines that impoverished nations hold little power in the international system and are of little importance from the realism viewpoint. they are not typically a threat militarily or socially.
- Explains that poverty is viewed as an internal issue, which is essential to solve in order to create balance in the international system.
- Opines that the issue of global poverty is relevant to the dependency/revolutionary viewpoint. solving it would prove well to those who subscribe to this theory.
- Opines that the debate in the field of global poverty is the best way to end it, the way in which it is measured, and the actual effects that it has.
- Explains that the sustainable development goals aim to end extreme poverty by 2030. many nations are on board with these goals and are working towards creating and implementing initiatives to achieve them.
- Explains that there has been an influx of data on poverty since the implementation of the millennium development goals in 1990. skeptics have criticized everything from the types of polls and surveys used to collect the data.
- Opines that liberalists believe that at its core, each nation is inherently good with good intentions, but corrupt governments, rebels, radical groups, etc., ultimately control the nation.
- Explains that nations should have their affairs in order internally, which contributes to a stable effective international system. however, when the nation doesn't have the knowledge or resources to combat the issue at hand, the responsibility shifts.
1223 wordsRead More - Poverty And Povertyanalytical essayIn the global economy, issues of poverty has for some time been at the center of developmental goal of nations. The poor nations are eager to come out of poverty; the rich nations are evolving welfare strategies to improve the
In this essay, the author
- Explains that poverty is a communal social issue that has troubled nations for thousands of years. while nations like the united states have worked vigorously to eliminate it nationally, it still exists widely worldwide.
- Explains that poverty is a multidimensional phenomenon in the global economy. the poor nations are eager to come out of poverty, while the rich are evolving welfare strategies to improve the quality of life of their people.
- Explains that even today, there are still people struggling to find shelter, feed their kids and find warm clothing. there are feasible solutions that are available to alleviate this social problem.
- Analyzes how jesus considered poverty a virtue and cherished the poor. the words of jesus and those close to him depict the rich as wicked and arrogant people who shall have no part in the blessings of heaven.
- Explains that jesus taught poor people to be satisfied with what they had, and be grateful to god for what he gave them. he condemned those who hoarded wealth.
- Analyzes how the gospel of luke depicts a pregnant mary's visit to her cousin elizabeth, who is carrying john the baptist. the magnificent proclaims the greatness of god.
- Explains that the measurement of poverty and its inclinations has been a wide-ranging focus for many economists for research and analysis, which may conclude that poverty has steadily increased despite the federal government trying to balance the income gap between the classes.
- Explains that factors that should be considered other than monetary value would include time period, unit of analysis, how the information is presented, and how poverty is measured.
- Explains that much of the food and resources in developed countries is squandered, while others do not get enough food to meet their energy needs.
- Argues that america measures poverty without taking both absolute and relative poverty thresholds into account is peculiar and should be addressed in understanding where standards are measured.
- Explains that there is a culture of poverty, characterized by struggling for survival, traits, including little room for privacy, alcoholism, leading to domestic and sexual violence. poverty sustained generates beliefs, norms, etc.
- Explains that absolute income is how poverty is considered. the u.s. federal government outlines a household as underprivileged if their annual income falls below an established dollar amount.
- Explains that the poverty line was established if one family was spending a certain amount annually on nutrition. today, such purchases account for less than one-fifth of household income.
- Opines that there is a vast and growing earnings gap between the rich and the poor, and that lower income families don't deserve any additional assistance or educational benefits.
- Explains that education is one of the major factors that keeps incomes lower. without proper training, good workers are in lower skilled positions, such as restaurants, department or grocery stores.
- Explains that in 1990, 43% of the population of developing countries lived in extreme poverty. by 2010, it was 21%. the global poverty rate had been cut in half in 20 years.
- Opines that poverty could be eliminated by 2030 if the data is correct and half of global poverty has been cut in 20 years.
- Argues that if a homeless person collects $2 per day from those who pass by, does this move them out of poverty?
- Explains that the difference between cash subsides and rehabilitative programs is often blurred. these various strategies for helping the poor complement each other.
- Analyzes how the solutions presented by all three articles indicate that government intervention is the solution. for instance, poverty management has been alleviated by programs targeted towards specific demographics.
- Opines that by utilizing funding and coordinating business strategy to help alleviate poverty, the cooperative partnerships between these two entities would surely promote long-term job growth.
- Explains that the problem of poverty is very serious and urgent nowadays, because the population of the planet is getting higher and the number of poor people rises as well.
1867 wordsRead More - Summary of the debate between Thomas Pogge and Mathias Risse Regarding Our Obligation to the Global Pooranalytical essay...s extreme poverty that we contribute to, then we are at least partially responsible for its alleviation. As a consequence, we do owe an effective and changing solution. In recognising responsibility we now need to find solutions and do our part to stop the phenomenon of poverty destroying more innocent lives. The question is now whether affluent states do have the ability to make those changes. Pogge, whilst continually advocating minor changes and simple solutions in the two papers, does not actually suggest the mechanisms of any. As a consequence, more thought needs to be given to the possible solutions that can alleviate global poverty and eliminate our debt to the poor. This however, does not justify continued imposition of the problem. Just like if a builder is incapable of fixing leak he would hire help, so too must society look to find an adequate solution.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes the debate between thomas pogge and mathias risse regarding our obligation to the poor.
- Analyzes pogge's three arguments that the global poor have a claim to assistance or rectification, arguing that global history is flawed and shouldn't result in the "radical inequality" we see today.
- Analyzes pogge's argument that we hold the global poor below a credible state of nature baseline based on the ideas of john locke.
- Argues that pogge frames the institutional order in terms of human rights stating that a global order is dictated largely by the states that are better off.
- Explains pogge's idea that the debate about the global poor should be placed within the framework of a negative duty to the poor.
- Analyzes how risse denies that we have a negative duty to the poor. he argues that the wto negotiations haven't helped poor countries as much as one had hoped due to their bargaining power.
- Analyzes how risse argues that the wto is an improvement on previous systems such as the gatt, and that it should be credited with the considerable improvements in human wellbeing.
- Analyzes pogge's argument that aggregate statistics will not "silence the complaints of the approximately 800 million chronically undernourished human beings."
- Analyzes pogge's argument that the global order is inflicting severe poverty on a massive scale. if this is true, it seems hard to justify not making the changes.
- Argues that pogge and risse's debate on the global order is unjust. they argue that affluent states must find solutions to alleviate poverty and eliminate their debt to the poor.
2494 wordsRead More - Why Nations Fail by Daron Acemogly and James Robinsonanalytical essayWhy Nations Fail by Daron Acemogly and James Robinson stipulates its own answers for questions asked by most who study or engage with development, war and poverty. The central question is – why are some nations strong and others weak? Why are some trapped in perpetual poverty and others thriving in excess? Why do some nations fail while others do not? The authors argue, very basically, that it is “institutions, more precisely the political institutions that determine economic institutions” (Boldrin, Levine and Modica) that determine whether a nation will succeed or fall apart. They present a variety of important examples and make statements meant to force their audience to really think about privilege, luck and what truly determines our fate. This essay will first present a summary of the book and its central ideas, and then it will discuss whether these are valid, important and how they fit into the broader debate.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes why nations fail by daron acemogly and james robinson. s argue that institutions determine economic institutions and make statements to force their audience to think about privilege, luck and what truly determines our fate.
- Analyzes the contrast between the us-mexico border and the city of nogales, arizona, which has a relatively healthy population and an average income of $30 thousand dollars.
- Analyzes how the nogaleses have access to the economic institutions of the united states and political institutions that allow them to take part in the democratic process.
- Analyzes how acemogly and robinson discuss the differences between the united states and mexico's constitutions.
- Analyzes the importance of rome and greece, the vatican and religious power, and the presence of strong monarchs, as well as the development of parliament and a rule of law.
- Analyzes how s make mention of genocide and conflict and how they affected nations differently. after world war ii, europe was left in tatters, but institutions and infrastructure were already strong.
- Argues that empowerment of state and economic institutions, as well as people, is essential for success. foreign aid is not an effective means of dealing with failed nations.
- Analyzes how why nations fail is an engaging piece of literature that presents important arguments and historical circumstances that should be considered and understood. boldrin, levine and modica argue that many small unpredictable incidents or small differences in initial circumstances can lead to either inclusive or exclusive institutions.
- States that acemoglu, daron, and robinson, james, "why nations fail: the origins of power, prosperity and poverty". crown publishers.
- Concludes that why nations fail is an important piece of literature in the field of international politics, economy and development.
1783 wordsRead More - Why Nations Fail Essayanalytical essayWhy nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty, is a captivating read for all college economic courses. Coauthored by Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson, they optimistically attempt to answer the tough question of why some nations are rich and others are poor through political economic theories. They lay it all out in the preface and first chapter. According to Acemoglu and Robinson, the everyday United States citizen obtains more wealth than the every day Mexican, sub-Saharan African, Ethiopian, Mali, Sierra Leonne and Peruvian citizen as well as some Asian countries. The authors strategically arranged each chapter in a way that the reader, whomever he or she is, could easily grasp the following concept. Extractive nations that have political leadership and financial inconsistencies within their institutions are the largest contributor to poverty and despair within most countries. It also states that countries with socioeconomic institutions that work ‘for the people and by the people’, or in other words, focus on the internal agenda of that
In this essay, the author
- Recommends why nations fail: the origins of power, prosperity, and poverty by daron acemoglu and james a. robinson.
- Analyzes how s state that inclusive economic institutions that enforce property rights, create a level playing field, and encourage investments in new technologies and skills are more conducive to economic growth.
- Analyzes how s relayed back to the historical moment of the colonization of latin america, the founding of buenos aires, and colonizing the united states, which eventually turned into a success story for them.
- Opines that the book failed to address the current conditions of the united states.
- Analyzes how s' decision to dive into the differences between north korea and south korea by observing a map of the korean peninsula was most effective.
- Analyzes how the government of korea is corrupt and dispersing the money throughout the country. the president of zimbabwe, robert mugabe, won the lottery. rich countries have incentives like more job availability, protection and monetary support.
- Opines that s want readers to adopt the concept of building new inclusive institutions so that poverty can be lessoned.
- Opines that the book does an excellent job in explaining why some nations are more prosperous than others.
1286 wordsRead More - The Devastating Effects of Neoliberal Policiesanalytical essayThe neoliberal policies have benefited some people in generating great wealth for them, but controversially, the policies have failed to benefit the people who live in extreme poverty and those people are the most in need for financial support (Makwana, 2006). In the last 2 to 3 decades, the wealth disparity between nations as well as within nations has increased. Currently, one out of every 5 children in the United States is in a state of poverty, continual hunger, insecurity and lack of health care (MIT, 2000). This situation is becoming even more desperate. Between 1960 and 1980, the developing countries’ economic growth was 3.2 percent. Then it dropped significantly to 0.7 percent between 1980 and 2000, and this is the period when neolibe...
In this essay, the author
- Explains that neoliberalism, also called free market economy, is a set of economic policies that became widespread in the last 25 years.
- Analyzes how the north american free trade agreement (nafta) is an example of free market that gives legal rights to the corporations at the expense of the national sovereignty.
- Explains that corporations seek out conditions that would help them to reduce costs and increase their productivity. regulating corporates protects the public and removing these regulations would only protect the corporations by increasing their profits.
- Explains that privatization is the transfer of ownership of resources and productions from state (government) to private companies to increase corporate profits and opportunities.
- Argues that the economic globalization can be beneficial for transnational corporations who sell high value goods and services internationally. powerful institutions that have interest in global and regional economics gain benefits by practicing their political lobbying.
- Explains that neoliberalism proponents wanted to maximize the profits of all nations by combining the economies. however, not all countries are economically and financially equal.
- Explains that neoliberal policies have benefited some people in generating great wealth for them, but they have failed to benefit the people who live in extreme poverty.
- Explains that the world bank, imf and wto are the main appliers for the neoliberal strategies internationally.
- Cites evans, t. l., makwana, r. and garcia, a. (1996). what is neoliberalism?
1391 wordsRead More