The End of Poverty?

Last weekend Cinema Village screened “The End of Poverty”, a documentary that traces the cause of today’s global inequality. The filmmaker Philippe Diaz wonders how it is possible that in a world with so much wealth so much poverty can exist? To answer that question the film begins in colonial times with the exploitation of Africa and South America by Europe, continues with the neo-liberalism strategies in South America and shows that today not much has changed in regards to global dependencies. An example is the fact that Germany without growing a single coffee plant is still the biggest coffee exporter in the world.

The film listens closely to workers in Brazil, Bolivia, Kenya, Tanzania and Venezuela. People describe in detail their sub-standard living conditions and economic problems. The reasons for their plight are effectively underlined by the analysis of economists like Amartya Sen and Joseph Stiglitz. The economists propose a “five action plan” that includes a change in tax systems, land reforms, restructuring of government institutions and the “degrowth” of rich nations. “Degrowth” meaning that everyone needs to reduce their consumption and henceforth their waste and environmental impact. The filmmaker calls for a collective action to turn around a statistic as alarming as: “20% of the planet’s population uses 80% of its resources and consumes 30% more than the planet can regenerate”.

The film presents these and many more shocking facts but, with its analysis of the origin of the problem and how it has perpetuated itself, runs out of time before addressing everyday alternatives. I think it’s important to understand the cause of the problem, but you feel quite helpless when you walk out of the theatre. The whole system needs to be restructured but where can we start?

Here is where Fractor can be of use. The Fractor model allows for individuals to come together on a particular cause and participate collectively towards its improvement and solution. In Fractor’s social hub people can connect with others that share the will to make a difference – you can post your actions, talk about pressing issues, reach out to others and learn what other people are doing. The idea is to be able to search for the places and communities where you can make a difference – be it your home, your neighborhood, your city or other countries. Fractor can help you find the situations that need the most attention and the people that are already involved. This way your individual attention can contribute to a collective solution.