Delete comment from: KEEPER OF THE SNAILS
Clare,
A precise description of what is happening in England since 1990:
http://www.jrf.org.uk/publications/poverty-and-wealth-across-britain-1968-2005
and also what is happening worldwide:
Wealth inequality has reached grotesque levels. The richest 1% of adults consists of 37 million adults owning at least $515,000 of assets each. Between them, they own 40% of the planet's wealth, totalling $125 trillion. The richest 10% own 85% of the wealth, while the bottom half of the population own only 1.1% of global wealth. The assets of the world's typical person are around $2,200. Globalisation, it is claimed, is good for everyone. Yet there are still over 1 billion people struggling to survive on less than $1 a day.
— Sources: The New York Times 6.12.06, The Guardian 30.6.06, International Herald Tribune 8.12.06, The Guardian 8.12.06, Washington Post 8.12.06, Financial Times 25.8.06, Financial Times 29.10.06.
As for the cause, one has to be blind not to see it; I'm looking at you, Mrs. Thatcher ; I won't elaborate, for fear Clare will think I'm a marxist.
So, Mary, there's nothing poetic about the consequences of triumphant greed. I think we're also responsible, each one of us, when we elect coward politicians who allow delocalization of work and think financial deregulation is a good idea.
I'm old enough to remember a time when there was a baker, a shoemaker, a butcher's shop, furniture stores, bookstore, printers shops, small industry, etc. in every neighborhood, when meat, fruits, vegetables, clothing didn't come from the other side of the planet but from local farms or producers, when there was 50 automakers in England all selling locally, also, when African didn't need to import food.
It's not that I'm nostalgic for the (largely idealized) past, but we should use our marvelous technology to produce all we can locally like in the past, especially food and clothing.
Aug 19, 2009, 2:37:01 PM
Posted to The Urban Wounding.