Politics, Poverty and Political Economy:

The backdrop to climate change

David McCoy

Centre for Primary Care and Public Health, Queen Mary University

Medact

Friederich Hayek

NeoliberalismA set of theories and beliefs

• Free Markets• Small states • Strong private property rights• Low taxation• Monetary policy

• Homo economicus• Individualism • All that matters can be priced

• Idea of economic growth being fundamental

• Associated with ‘globalisation’

A political project …..

Theory ≠ Practice

Anglo-American roots ….

Not ‘patriotic’ ….

China ….

Latin America ….

So what?

• Rising inequality and enduring poverty

– 50% of humanity lives below $3.25 / day

• Richest 2% of adults owned 51% of global assets in 2000• Bottom half owned barely 1%

Davies, Sandström, Shorrocks and Wolff, 2006. World Distribution of Household Wealth. World Institute for Development Economics Research (WIDER)

Source: Alvaredo, Atkinson, Piketty and Saez (2013) ‘The World Top Incomes Database’, http://topincomes.g-mond.parisschoolofeconomics.eu/ Only includes countries with data in 1980 and later than 2008.

Eradicating poverty ($5 / day)

– requires GDP pc > $1.35m (2005 PPP)• 135x 2010 level• 40x high-income OECD average

– increasing global GDP by a factor of >170– takes >200 years at 1993-2010 global growth rate

• By comparison– Poverty gap = 6.7% of global GDP (PPP)

Source: David Woodward

Eradicating poverty ($1.25-a-day)

– requires GDP pc > $110,000 (2005 PPP)• 11x 2010 level• 3.3x high-income OECD average

– increasing global GDP by a factor of nearly 15– takes >100 years at 1993-2010 global growth rate

• By comparison– Poverty gap = 0.6% of global GDP (PPP)

Source: David WoodwardVideo: http://www.medact.org/resources/multimedia/david-woodward

-rack-hot-place-can-reconcile-poverty-eradication-tackling-climate-change/

Global Growth and Poverty with Binding Carbon Constraints

Poverty increase

Global growth

Markets/ opportunities

Poverty reduction

Increased emissions

Climate change

Carbon intensity of global GDP must fall 92-97% to limit climate change to +2°CFar beyond the potential of known/anticipated technologies

So what?

• Inequality and enduring poverty

– The rich provoke climate change through over consumption– The poor commit ecological suicide at a local level through desperation and short term

survival

• Intellectual property rights regime

• Corporate capture– Monopolies and oligopolies

• Financialisation

• Political failures / democratic deficits

The Global Health Paradox

Implications

• Alternative development paradigm

• Global governance

• Political bottlenecks / millstones

Between the Rack and a Hot Place: Can we Reconcile Poverty Eradication and Tackling Climate Change?David Woodward

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFpHs0sDKug

Health and Human Rights

Weapons and War

Climate and Ecology

Economic Justice

Holistic analysis of the inter-connectedness of these issues

looked through the lens of health, sustainability and justice …..

Nuclear weapons

Impact assessment

Biological and chemical warfare

Protection of civilians and health workers

Non-nuclear weapons

Drones

Psycho-social rehabilitation post conflict

Tax and Health

Trade, investment and finance

Intellectual property / Privatisation of knowledge

Global warming

Nuclear energy

Water

Access to care for refugees, asylum seekers

People held in detention

Human rights medicine and medical complicity in torture

Privatisation and commercialisation of health care

Corporate capture of public health

Health professionals for a fairer, safer and better world

Food worth a week of discussion ……

Read up

Be empowered

Recognise that we are led by many an emperor with no clothes ….

Recognise that we are also ruled by many who need to be opposed …..

But the bulk of us are decent and sensible

Thankyou