Re: Imperialism and poverty

Why must there be a conflict between pulling children from shallow ponds
at the same time figuring out ways to keep them from falling into shallow
ponds? Does Peter Singer really say it is one or the other?

Andrew Austin
Knoxville, TN

On Thu, 6 Jul 2000, Paul Gomberg wrote:

>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
>