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51 reviews for:
Het einde van de armoede: hoe we dit doel binnen twintig jaar kunnen bereiken
Jeffrey D. Sachs
3.53 AVERAGE
51 reviews for:
Het einde van de armoede: hoe we dit doel binnen twintig jaar kunnen bereiken
Jeffrey D. Sachs
3.53 AVERAGE
Reading this was kind of a "preaching to the choir" situation for me. I found myself agreeing with everything, which made it a little bit boring. However, as someone who used to have a job in which he had to try to implement the Millennium Development Goals on the ground, it was interesting for me to read about them from the point of view of someone who helped create them at the policymaking level.
I was going to give this a solid two stars, but then I read the last chapter, which he closed with an amazing RFK quote. That alone was worth another star.
Overall good, but be ready to feel like you're in a macroeconomics class.
I was going to give this a solid two stars, but then I read the last chapter, which he closed with an amazing RFK quote. That alone was worth another star.
Overall good, but be ready to feel like you're in a macroeconomics class.
I think everything I have to say is better said by other reviewers (Especially Doug Henwood, review here: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.2190/DR5B-3X5T-8AMX-5F3G and Nina Munk’s The Idealist, summarized here: https://psmag.com/social-justice/smart-guy-jeffrey-sachs-nina-munk-idealist-poverty-failure-africa-65348). I would encourage anyone who thinks that Sach’s neoliberal economics would save the world take a look at Sach’s history both before the book and after in his Millenium Villages. When I read the book, I thought he was a kind although misguided economist trying to fit the problems of the world into his economic framework. After looking at other reviewers and getting a broader perspective, it seems that Sachs is an egomaniac who wants to be known not for saving the world, but for someone years from now to say he was right, despite ignoring evidence that could harm his arguments.
With convincing maps, graphs, and tables of real numbers, Jeffrey Sachs, although a bit of a know-it-all makes a compelling argument why many people today are suffering in a destitute-poverty trap, which need not be the case. Lots of interesting tidbits like the fallacy of saying corruption is the reason why African economies haven't taken off and why arguments concluding that cultural heritage has vast economic consequences don't hold weight. Here's a quote on that last: "Early in the twentieth century, sociological theories in the tradition of Max Weber tried to explain the lower incomes of Southern Europe and Ireland relative to Northern Europe on the basis of supposedly static values of Catholicism versus entrepreneurial values of Protestantism. After midcentury, the Catholic countries began to grow very rapidly especially after malaria was controlled" (316 [my underline]).
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Sachs provides some very real statistics for the crushing reality of extreme poverty in the world, and outlines what he believes needs to be done to alleviate the poverty trap and bring the poorest nations into the world market, encouraging growth. However, this book holds some unrealistic perspectives on what nations, non-state actors, and international bodies are actually willing to do with regards to targeted investments and international humanitarian aid. Overall, this book is a good read for those who seek to learn more about the structure and causes of cyclical poverty, and the possible methods of alleviation through national and international investments. However, this book's somewhat apparent view on rich states (read: Western colonial powers and China) as being capable of even the slightest amount of altruism simply does not hold true to reality, as much as we wish it could. This is not to discredit the entire book, however. Sachs has a lengthy career in the United Nations and in international development, and does not write as an outsider.
This book is a must read for anyone concerned about world poverty. I am not a big reader of non-fiction but I was really impressed with the clarity with which he outlines the causes of poverty and what the world can do to end it. It is a call to unite and urge our governments to do what they must to assure that all people can escape extreme poverty by 2025.
Prose/Readability: 5
Commitment to Objective/Unbiased Truth: 4
Interesting Content: 5
Perspective Shift: 5
Commitment to Objective/Unbiased Truth: 4
Interesting Content: 5
Perspective Shift: 5
Though I raced through the first half of the book on a train ride (yes, I know, I seem to be on public transportation oh so much these days) the second half took me an uncommonly substantial portion of time to finish. Like, say a month. I also debated whether to give this book four or five stars.
On the one hand, it did tend to drag, and Jeff would throw in economic terms and ideas without really explaining them. On the other hand, a full explanation of everything the layperson wouldn't understand could mean a much extended version making it even more difficult to read. However, rating it as a book, and not a message, pushed me to give it the four-star rating that I instinctively leaned towards.
The reason why I toyed with giving it five stars, though, is that this is a book that I feel like every church/organization that is battling with social justice should and needs to read. It presents a much bigger picture than the perspective that most sermons and motivational speeches tend to give. It talks of how it is possible to end extreme poverty by first allowing struggling societies to get their foot on the first rung, and how it's really up to them to climb the rest of the steps.
I love that perspective because, as a Christian, I often feel a tug-of-war between an apathetic attitude and the need to MAKE others succeed. However, Jeff's point is that the extreme poor need the rich to help them with the first step (how can they pull themselves up by their bootstraps if they have... no... boots..?), but it is ultimately up to the extreme poor once they have become the moderate poor to go the rest of the way.
In either case, it's an awesome book and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants a more international perspective of social justice.
On the one hand, it did tend to drag, and Jeff would throw in economic terms and ideas without really explaining them. On the other hand, a full explanation of everything the layperson wouldn't understand could mean a much extended version making it even more difficult to read. However, rating it as a book, and not a message, pushed me to give it the four-star rating that I instinctively leaned towards.
The reason why I toyed with giving it five stars, though, is that this is a book that I feel like every church/organization that is battling with social justice should and needs to read. It presents a much bigger picture than the perspective that most sermons and motivational speeches tend to give. It talks of how it is possible to end extreme poverty by first allowing struggling societies to get their foot on the first rung, and how it's really up to them to climb the rest of the steps.
I love that perspective because, as a Christian, I often feel a tug-of-war between an apathetic attitude and the need to MAKE others succeed. However, Jeff's point is that the extreme poor need the rich to help them with the first step (how can they pull themselves up by their bootstraps if they have... no... boots..?), but it is ultimately up to the extreme poor once they have become the moderate poor to go the rest of the way.
In either case, it's an awesome book and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants a more international perspective of social justice.
Although it was written 15 years ago, I think Sachs' portrayal of the causes of and solutions to global poverty remain true. It's tough to read of the failures of the US and the other rich nations to truly address these issues...especially after the events of the last few years. I hope the US and world begin making better decisions after the 2020 POTUS election.