From Poverty to Power: How Active Citizens and Effective States Can Change the World - Softcover

Duncan Green

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9780855985936: From Poverty to Power: How Active Citizens and Effective States Can Change the World

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0855985933 ISBN 13: 9780855985936

Publisher: Oxfam Publishing, 2008

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The twenty-first century will be defined by the fight against the scourges of poverty, inequality, and the threat of environmental collapse–as the fight against slavery or for universal suffrage defined earlier eras.

From Poverty to Power argues that to break the cycle of poverty and inequality and to give poor people power over their own destinies a radical redistribution of power, opportunities, and assets is required. The two driving forces behind such a transformation are active citizens and effective states.

Why active citizenship? Because people living in poverty must have a voice in deciding their own destiny, fighting for rights and justice in their own society, and holding states and the private sector to account.

Why effective states? Because history shows that no country has prospered without a state structure than can actively manage the development process.

There is now an added urgency beyond the moral case for tackling poverty and inequality, we need to build a secure, fair, and sustainable world before climate change makes it impossible. This book argues that there is still time, provided leaders, organizations, and individuals act. Starting today...

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Book Description:

The fight against poverty, inequality, and the threat of environmental collapse will define the 21st century, as the fight against slavery or for universal suffrage defined earlier eras. Unprecedented levels of prosperity co-exist with mass poverty and extreme inequalities. More than a billion people live in extreme poverty and another billion people live with the everyday threat of falling into it. The world, and the nature of poverty are changing. To respond to these challenges, change-makers are also having to adapt.

From Poverty to Power takes a fresh look at development through the lenses of rights, politics, and power and explores the impact of issues such as climate change, global integration, and the spread of electoral democracy. This powerful book argues that most positive change, including development, is locally and nationally driven. Drawing on local, national, and global examples, it argues that what is needed is nothing less than a global new deal―a redistribution of power, voice, opportunities, and assets to achieve a dynamic and inclusive society. Oxfam’s experience in more than 60 years of working with the poorest communities in the world leads to a conclusion that such redistribution can best be achieved by a combination of active citizens and effective states.

About the Author:

Duncan Green has been Head of Research at Oxfam Great Britain since 2004. He is the author of several books on Latin America, including Faces of Latin America (third edition 2006) and Silent Revolution: The Rise and Crisis of Market Economics in Latin America (2003). He has been a Senior Policy Advisor on trade and development at the UK's Department for International Development (DFID) and Policy Analyst on trade and globalization at CAFOD.

Mark Fried coordinates advocacy for Oxfam Canada and writes regularly on policy issues related to international development.

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