An Index of Articles on Poverty


154: Male Dominance in Bolivia, by Jack Powelson

"In Bolivia of 1960, the man was head of the household. The dominant male was also the head of the business firm, which was inevitably small. Oh yes, there were rich people in Bolivia, but rarely would they risk their money on a larger business, and anyone who was "lower class" could not possibly have good ideas (in the opinion of the upper class). Only big foreign companies would invest in larger businesses. Thus Bolivian industry rarely grew. In 1960 I had been an advisor to the monetary stabilization board, which consisted of all the cabinet. It met regularly with President Victor Paz Estenssoro. President Paz was the boss, and the whole cabinet knew it..." [3 Mar 07]

121: Globalization and the World's Poor, by Janet Minshall

"Globalization and its proponents are widely mistrusted and their achievements denied and denounced. Some vocal representatives of the labor movement have said that any production done outside the US or Europe which is provided at lower than US or European wages amounts to exploitation..."

108: Microfinance, by JD von Pischke

"Microfinance is currently a popular means of helping the poor in poor countries and in the former planned economies. I have been involved in microfinance for many years..."

85: Bolivia: Hard Choices, by Jack Powelson

"Ever since I was economic advisor to its president in 1960, Bolivia has been dear to my heart. Yet right now roadblocks are set up all over the country..."

68: Chiapas, Mexico, Part 2: Historical Antecedents, by Jack Powelson

"Will the peasants of Chiapas gain their freedom and dignity though fighting undertaken by the Zapatistas? Let us look to history for the answer..."

55: Listening to Vietnam, by Jack Powelson

"All that we fought for, all that we killed and maimed millions for, came to pass after we had lost the war. Vietnam is no longer beholden to the Soviet Union — indeed, the USSR doesn't exist — and it is socialist in name only, capitalist in fact..."

53: Who Will Pay for Water for the World's Poor? by Jack Powelson

"Thirty years ago, at a "starvation camp" in Northern Bolivia, Robin and I watched three persons eke out their week's supply of water from a deep, muddy hole..."

46: Slavery and the Mystery of Capital, by Jack Powelson

"The greatest imperialists of twenty centuries were Rome, Russia, Spain, Portugal, Ottoman Turkey, Mongolia, the Incas, the Aztecs, and the Islamic countries. None of these experienced an industrial revolution. Britain and France were also imperialists and slave holders, but to a much lesser degree. Rather, their wealth correlates more closely with inventiveness, innovation, and trade..."

42: The Living Wage, by Jack Powelson

"The Living Wage Campaign aims to require cities and universities to pay their employees a 'living wage' and to buy their supplies only from producers who pay similarly. The campaign started in Baltimore in 1995..."

38: Shall the Rich Take Jobs from the Poor? by Jack Powelson

"Jasmine rice is one of the most sought after strains of rice in the world and is grown by over five million families in Thailand, many of whom are in debt and very poor..."

33: Exclusion of the Poor, by Jack Powelson

"Poverty is not only low income and no assets. It is a condition of exclusion from the institutions and organizations of modern life..."

26: Is Life Sacred? by Jack Powelson

"When Henry V of England besieged Rouen in 1418-19, the starving French inhabitants pushed the noncombatants out of the gates, thinking the English would let them by. But Henry was adamant. He watched women, howling children, and elderly men slowly die of sickness, cold, and starvation in the moat..."

18: What is Seen and Not Seen, by Jack Powelson

"Frédéric Bastiat died of tuberculosis at age 49. But in the two hundred years since his birth (1801), his simple philosophies of economics have turned up time and again..."

16: My Ten Years in Marxistland, by Jack Powelson

"My first looking-glass world was Bolivia in 1960. There I taught for one year, whenever the students were not on strike, in the University of San Andres. The students — almost all Marxists who disliked my world — were lively and friendly..."

15: Kenya: A Turning Point, by Jack Powelson

"Kenya may have been the turning point, but it was only the culmination of a long-growing suspicion: Was my career as advisor to Third-World governments doing more harm than good? ..."

14: Land Seizure in Cali, by Jack Powelson

"As Luigi and I toured the slums of Cali in his Volkswagen, we found ourselves at a dead end before a large ceibo tree. Ahead lay a field, about a mile long and half a mile wide, dotted with what seemed like tents in a campground..."

1: China, by Jack Powelson

"In 1433 the Chinese Emperor canceled the voyages of one of the world's greatest sailors, Zheng He, and from that point on China languished economically, and its people sank into poverty..."

TQE Home