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Imperialism and poverty

by Paul Gomberg

07 July 2000 01:25 UTC


Dear Colleagues:

I just received from a mainstream philosophy journal a rejection letter 
with an invitation to resubmit for a paper attacking Peter Singer's 
argument that we have a duty to aid victims of global poverty parallel to 
our duty to pull a drowning child from a shallow pond. I argue that the 
analogy obscures the institutions and forces that *create* extreme 
poverty. 

The political payoff is a section at the end that suggests 
causes of poverty that are usually ignored; this is the part of the paper 
that was most forcefully rejected by the journal's referees. I would like 
to strengthen that part of the paper. As currently written it cites ILO 
figures and analysis of unemployment and underemployment, presents 
Chossudovsky's analysis of the role of IMF SAPs in creating poverty, and 
mention's Greider's One World as demonstrating the devastating effect of 
markets on the lives of workers. I could also cite Sen on India and China 
to argue for the effectiveness of revolutionary solutions. 

I need help on sources that argue the effect of capitalist institutions 
in creating poverty, particularly in the current period, particularly in 
the "periphery." Thanks in advance,

Paul


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