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The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time
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The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Timeby Jeffrey Sachs
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104 of 124 people found the following review helpful: Powerful overview of the many in deep need in the world, April 17, 2005 Reviewer:Michael Erisman (Seattle, WA) - The book opens in a most powerful fashion by depicting the tremendous need of impoverished people throughout the developing world. The views, both personal through his visits, and systemic through graphs and charts, make the need apparent. I felt, both intellectually and emotionally, the desire to help. So in that sense Jeffrey Sachs has made his case. What the book also does well is describe the many reasons why the cycle of poverty exists. He discusses and dissects the many misconceptions of why many are in poverty. He describes the greatest challenge is overcoming the poverty trap. (Page 73). Several chapters go in depth into the economies of China, Russia, India and other developing countries. I found these sections to be solidly researched and well presented. The book does a great job in presenting how certain investments can reverse the cycle of poverty. Human capital, infrastructure, knowledge capital, etc., are all potential ways to influence and lift those suffering out of poverty, however these need to be addressed systemically in order to be effective. There are a few sections where he loses his train of thought and attacks American politics; this weakens his overall prose in my opinion. If we are to truly commit to solve "world hunger" this will need to be a bi-partisan effort. Emotional attacks on one party will not move this forward. The only real weakness of this book is what it doesn't say. Jeffrey ascribes all root causes and solutions to a government effort. In seems impossible in a nearly 400 page book on poverty, to not address materialism, greed, and the culture of valuing self above all else. Yet no where does he address personal responsibility. The fact that the efficiency of non-governmental charitable work through organizations like "World Vision" vastly outperforms any government processes is ignored here. The book is poorer for the lack of addressing personal accountability for each of us to care for the poor in our world community. I recommend this book despite these gaps. There are many who suffer needlessly in our world while we sit in comfort. The book does contain some great insights into the systems that may help reduce or stop the cycle of poverty and the resulting tragic consequences to children and families. The book is written very well, topics are laid out clearly, and the research is first rate.
Product Review
Celebrated economist Jeffrey Sachs has a plan to eliminate extreme poverty around the world by 2025. If you think that is too ambitious or wildly unrealistic, you need to read this book. His focus is on the one billion poorest individuals around the world who are caught in a poverty trap of disease, physical isolation, environmental stress, political instability, and lack of access to capital, technology, medicine, and education. The goal is to help these people reach the first rung on the "ladder of economic development" so they can rise above mere subsistence level and achieve some control over their economic futures and their lives. To do this, Sachs proposes nine specific steps, which he explains in great detail in The End of Poverty. Though his plan certainly requires the help of rich nations, the financial assistance Sachs calls for is surprisingly modest--more than is now provided, but within the bounds of what has been promised in the past. For the U.S., for instance, it would mean raising foreign aid from just 0.14 percent of GNP to 0.7 percent. Sachs does not view such help as a handout but rather an investment in global economic growth that will add to the security of all nations. In presenting his argument, he offers a comprehensive education on global economics, including why globalization should be embraced rather than fought, why international institutions such as the United Nations, International Monetary Fund, and World Bank need to play a strong role in this effort, and the reasons why extreme poverty exists in the midst of great wealth. He also shatters some persistent myths about poor people and shows how developing nations can do more to help themselves.
Despite some crushing statistics, The End of Poverty is a hopeful book. Based on a tremendous amount of data and his own experiences working as an economic advisor to the UN and several individual nations, Sachs makes a strong moral, economic, and political case for why countries and individuals should battle poverty with the same commitment and focus normally reserved for waging war. This important book not only makes the end of poverty seem realistic, but in the best interest of everyone on the planet, rich and poor alike. --Shawn Carkonen
From Publishers Weekly
Sachs came to fame advising "shock therapy" for moribund economies in the 1980s (with arguably positive results); more recently, as director of Columbia University's Earth Institute, he has made news with a plan to end global "extreme poverty"--which, he says, kills 20,000 people a day--within 20 years. While much of the plan has been known to economists and government leaders for a number of years (including Kofi Annan, to whom Sachs is special advisor), this is Sachs's first systematic exposition of it for a general audience, and it is a landmark book.For on-the-ground research in reducing disease, poverty, armed conflict and environmental damage, Sachs has been to more than 100 countries, representing 90% of the world's population. The book combines his practical experience with sharp professional analysis and clear exposition. Over 18 chapters, Sachs builds his case carefully, offering a variety of case studies, detailing small-scale projects that have worked and crunching large amounts of data. His basic argument is that "[W]hen the preconditions of basic infrastructure (roads, power, and ports) and human capital (health and education) are in place, markets are powerful engines of development." In order to tread "the path to peace and prosperity," Sachs believes it is encumbant upon successful market economies to bring the few areas of the world that still need help onto "the ladder of development." Writing in a straightfoward but engaging first person, Sachs keeps his tone even whether discussing failed States or thriving ones. For the many who will buy this book but, perhaps, not make it all the way through, chapters 12 through 14 contain the blueprint for Sachs's solution to poverty, with the final four making a rigorous case for why rich countries (and individuals) should collectively undertake it--and why it is affordable for them to do so. If there is any one work to put extreme poverty back onto the global agenda, this is it. (Mar. 21)
Copyright © Reed business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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