Technical Bulletins of Dianetics and Scientology - Operating Thetan Levels

We Have Been Told That Development Is Working: That The Global South Is Catching Up To The North, That Poverty Has Been Cut In Half Over The Past Thirty Years, And Will Be Eradicated By 2030. It’s A Comforting Tale, And One That Is Endorsed By The World’s Most Powerful Governments And Corporations. But Is It True? Since 1960, The Income Gap Between The North And South Has Roughly Tripled In Size. Today 4.3 Billion People, 60 Per Cent Of The World's Population, Live On Less Than $5 Per Day. Some 1 Billion Live On Less Than $1 A Day. The Richest Eight People Now Control The Same Amount Of Wealth As The Poorest Half Of The World Combined. What Is Causing This Growing Divide? We Are Told That Poverty Is A Natural Phenomenon That Can Be Fixed With Aid. But In Reality It Is A Political Problem: Poverty Doesn’t Just Exist, It Has Been Created. Poor Countries Are Poor Because They Are Integrated Into The Global Economic System On Unequal Terms. Aid Only Works To Hide The Deep Patterns Of Wealth Extraction That Cause Poverty And Inequality In The First Place: Rigged Trade Deals, Tax Evasion, Land Grabs And The Costs Associated With Climate Change. The Divide Tracks The Evolution Of This System, From The Expeditions Of Christopher Columbus In The 1490s To The International Debt Regime, Which Has Allowed A Handful Of Rich Countries To Control Economic Policies In The Rest Of The World. Because Poverty Is A Political Problem, It Requires Political Solutions. The Divide Offers A Range Of Revelatory Answers, But Also Explains That Something Much More Radical Is Needed – A Revolution In Our Way Of Thinking. Drawing On Pioneering Research, Detailed Analysis And Years Of First-hand Experience, The Divide Is A Provocative, Urgent And Ultimately Uplifting Account Of How The World Works, And How It Can Change.-- Part One: The Divide -- The Development Delusion -- The End Of Poverty...has Been Postponed -- Part Two: Concerning Violence -- Where Did Poverty Come From? A Creation Story -- From Colonialisim To The Coup -- Part Three: The New Colonialism -- Debt And The Economics Of Planned Misery -- Free Trade And The Rise Of The Virtual Senate -- Plunder In The 21st Century -- Part Four: Closing The Divide -- From Charity To Justice -- The Necessary Madness Of Imagination. Jason Hickel. Includes Bibliographical References. For decades we have been told a story about the divide between rich countries and poor countries. We have been told that development is working: that the global South is catching up to the North, that poverty has been cut in half over the past thirty years, and will be eradicated by 2030. Its a comforting tale, and one that is endorsed by the worlds most powerful governments and corporations. But is it true? Since 1960, the income gap between the North and South has roughly tripled in size. Today 4.3 billion people, 60 per cent of the world's population, live on less than $5 per day. Some 1 billion live on less than $1 a day. The richest eight people now control the same amount of wealth as the poorest half of the world combined. What is causing this growing divide? We are told that poverty is a natural phenomenon that can be fixed with aid. But in reality it is a political problem: poverty doesnt just exist, it has been created. Poor countries are poor because they are integrated into the global economic system on unequal terms. Aid only works to hide the deep patterns of wealth extraction that cause poverty and inequality in the first place: rigged trade deals, tax evasion, land grabs and the costs associated with climate change. The Divide tracks the evolution of this system, from the expeditions of Christopher Columbus in the 1490s to the international debt regime, which has allowed a handful of rich countries to effectively control economic policies in the rest of the world. Because poverty is a political problem, it requires political solutions. The Divide offers a range of revelatory answers, but also explains that something much more radical is needed a revolution in our way of thinking. Drawing on pioneering research, detailed analysis and years of first-hand experience, The Divide is a provocative, urgent and ultimately uplifting account of how the world works, and how it can change. We have been told that development is working: that the global South is catching up to the North, that poverty has been cut in half over the past thirty years, and will be eradicated by 2030. It's a comforting tale, and one that is endorsed by the world's most powerful governments and corporations. But is it true? Since 1960, the income gap between the North and South has roughly tripled in size. Today 4.3 billion people, 60 per cent of the world's population, live on less than $5 per day. Some 1 billion live on less than $1 a day. The richest eight people now control the same amount of wealth as the poorest half of the world combined. What is causing this growing divide? We are told that poverty is a natural phenomenon that can be fixed with aid. But in reality it is a political problem: poverty doesn't just exist, it has been created. Poor countries are poor because they are integrated into the global economic system on unequal terms. Aid only works to hide the deep patterns of wealth extraction that cause poverty and inequality in the first place: rigged trade deals, tax evasion, land grabs and the costs associated with climate change. The Divide tracks the evolution of this system, from the expeditions of Christopher Columbus in the 1490s to the international debt regime, which has allowed a handful of rich countries to control economic policies in the rest of the world. Because poverty is a political problem, it requires political solutions. The Divide offers a range of revelatory answers, but also explains that something much more radical is needed - a revolution in our way of thinking. Drawing on pioneering research, detailed analysis and years of first-hand experience, The Divide is a provocative, urgent and ultimately uplifting account of how the world works, and how it can change.-- Provided by Publisher Global inequality doesn’t just exist; it has been created. More than four billion people—some 60 percent of humanity—live in debilitating poverty, on less than $5 per day. The standard narrative tells us this crisis is a natural phenomenon, having to do with things like climate and geography and culture. It tells us that all we have to do is give a bit of aid here and there to help poor countries up the development ladder. It insists that if poor countries would only adopt the right institutions and economic policies, they could overcome their disadvantages and join the ranks of the rich world. Anthropologist Jason Hickel argues that this story ignores the broader political forces at play. Global poverty—and the growing inequality between the rich countries of Europe and North America and the poor ones of Africa, Asia, and South America—has come about because the global economy has been designed over the course of five hundred years of conquest, colonialism, regime change, and globalization to favor the interests of the richest and most powerful nations. Global inequality is not natural or inevitable, and it is certainly not accidental. To close the divide, Hickel proposes dramatic action rooted in real justice: abolishing debt burdens in the global South, democratizing the institutions of global governance, and rolling out an international minimum wage, among many other vital steps. Only then will we have a chance at a world where all begin on more equal footing. "More than four billion people--some 60 percent of humanity--live in debilitating poverty, on less than $5 per day. The standard narrative tells us this crisis is a natural phenomenon, having to do with climate, geography, and culture. It tells us all we have to do is give aid to help poor countries up the development ladder. If poor countries would only adopt the right institutions and economic policies, they could join the ranks of the rich world. Anthropologist Jason Hickel argues that this story ignores the broader political forces at play. Global poverty--and the growing inequality between the rich countries of Europe and North America and the poor ones of Africa, Asia, and South America--has come about because the global economy has been designed over the course of five centuries to favor the interests of the most powerful nations. Global inequality is not natural, inevitable, or accidental. To close the divide, Hickel proposes dramatic action rooted in real justice: abolishing debt burdens in the global South, democratizing the institutions of global governance, and rolling out an international minimum wage, among other steps. Only then will we have a chance at a world built on equal footing."--Jacket flap.