In his New York Times column today Nicholas Kristof talks about global poverty, which isn’t a new subject for him – but the angle is, and it surprises me, and probably will surprise you. What I thought I knew, at least in the back of my head, about global poverty is that it’s always there, we’re stuck with it, it’s more or less insoluble; we can try and do good deeds here and there, but they really on scratch the surface. Surveys say most Americans think it’s worse than that, that global poverty is on the rise. But is that true? Kristoff looks at the best available studies and finds that the portion of the globe’s population enduring “extreme poverty” did rise through the middle of the last century but then plateaued and since has dropped from 35% in 1993 to 14% in 2011. Worldwide, the number of children who die by the end of five has fallen by more than half. Among other conclusions, Kristoff writes that “Cynics argue that saving lives is pointless, because the result is overpopulation that leads more to starve. Not true. Part of this wave of progress is a stunning drop in birthrates.” Hopelessness is overrated. – rs (photo/Poverties.org)
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