What can be done about global poverty? Answers and notes
1The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can be Done About It. (Oxford University Press)
2 That 4 billion are reaping the benefits of fast-growing economies (so their situation is improving).
To reap sth is to cut or gather a crop or harvest eg grain. It has come to mean to receive sth (good or bad) as a consequence of what you or others do: eg He’s reaping the rewards of all that hard work.
reap the benefits of – gain the advantages of
3 A global underclass of 58 countries, mostly African and central Asian where incomes are dropping in absolute terms.
underclass – lowest social class in a society, usually the poor and unemployed
We say something has not changed ‘in absolute terms‘ to express something that has not changed at all, meaning it is considered just in isolation, not in comparison with (or in relation to) anything else.
4 " A billion people …… stuck in a train that is slowly rolling backwards downhill."
5 The Oxford academic analyses why these states continue to fall behind and fall apart.
to fall behind – to fail to progress as fast as others in achievement or development
to fall apart – to collapse
6 No – civil wars are caused by the appeal of a shot at riches to uneducated, impoverished young men.
(to have) a shot at riches – to try to become wealthy
a legacy – an amount of money or property left to sb in a will; a situation, problem or advantaged left behind by a predecessor
fractious – easily irritated; difficult to control
We use the word ‘shot‘ informally to mean an attempt – eg I’ll just have a shot at mending the tap. He had a shot at fixing the car, but he couldn’t. It is usually to do something you have not done before – eg He’s having a shot at keeping sheep. I enjoy playing golf – why don’t you give it a shot?
If you give something your best shot – informal – you do the best you can.
7 Civil wars, abundant natural resources (blood diamonds), bad governance and accidents of geography.
poverty trap – a situation in which people cannot escape poverty by their own efforts; sometimes this means that although you may manage to increase your income you lose in other ways, so you end up ‘trapped’.
governance – the way a country is governed – so not its political ideology, but how it carries its ideas and principles out.
In his book, Paul Collier cites blood diamonds as a typical ‘abundant natural resource’ that causes not wealth for the population but conflict, war and dire poverty. In recent years the film ‘Blood Diamond‘ showed a story of diamonds being mined in a war zone and then traded to finance an army or warlord’s activity. Sometimes the term ‘a blood diamond’ can be called a converted / conflict, / hot or war diamond – they all mean the same.
8 1) Military intervention to enforce stability, 2) the promotion of laws and charters (to guarantee and protect people’s rights), 3) growth to encourage trade (with protectionism where necessary) and 4) a commitment to well-targeted aid.
The suggestion that there are situations where military intervention is a must to enforce stability is one of his most provocative solutions.
9 We must stop being suspicious of growth, because it encourages trade, which improves people’s circumstances.
get over sth – 1) recover from sth; 2) overcome a resistance to sth – eg 1) She’s got over the car accident = she has recovered from the car accident. 2) My Mum has more or less got over her dislike of my friend Henry = My Mum has (more or less) controlled or overcome her negative impression of my friend Henry .
10 That global capitalism will solve everything.