Global Inequality Reaches Levels Not Seen in Nearly 200 Years

[ymetca]

The financial and economic crisis has exacerbated rising inequality and fueled a social crisis. In OECD countries the income of the top 10 percent of the population is 9.5 times that of the bottom 10 percent, up by more than 30 percent in 25 years. Anchored poverty has increased by approximately 2 percentage points between 2007 and 2011, with much larger increases in countries that have experienced the deepest and longest downturns. The number of those living in households without any income from work has doubled in Greece, Ireland, and Spain. And worryingly for our future, the youth have now replaced the elderly as the group experiencing the greatest risk of income poverty.

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2014/10/02/global-inequality-reaches-levels-not-seen-nearly-200-years

My teenage son reminded me that we here in the United States are statistically part of the top 2%. If you follow the link and read the paper there are lots of interesting charts indicating that, while overall life appears to be improving globally for our species, there is indeed an unprecedented "flowering" of a tiny elite who are truly becoming "global citizens", mostly beyond the controls of nation/states. The Elon Musk-type crowd is rapidly achieving "escape velocity" from our planetary gravity well.

I am guessing that within my lifetime we will see Earth's first Trillionaire. No doubt the person who capitalizes on some significant technological advancement, perhaps in some fusion of genetics and nanotechnology. (X-men technology!)

That is, of course, if we don't tip into another "trough" of atavistic, superstitious, global warfare. We seem to be about due for that, unfortunately.

I personally prefer Timothy Leary's vision of "migration/adaptation/mutation" of our species into a space-faring race --planetary DNA's "crowning achievement" as it were.

Global capitalism, propped up by nation/state/corporate hierarchical ideologies, has been useful in capturing global resources for our species' use. However, it is rapidly reaching the nadir of diminishing returns. Our "illth" is beginning to eclipse our wealth. We need extra-terrestrial turf/resources, if we are to expand as a species. That might be the only way our precious planet can survive --when large numbers of us begin to migrate outwards, colonizing the Moon, Mars and beyond.

The alternative is almost too horrible to imagine --some New World Order that maximizes the entire planet's resources for a minuscule few, while the masses kill each other off.

The history of our species has been one of migration/adaptation/mutation. I am not sure we, collectively, can control such a process without destroying our planet, and ourselves, in the process. I prefer to imagine we were "designed" by planetary DNA as a sort of "sporing" of consciousness into our surrounding cosmos from our "womb planet"; that cosmic consciousness erupted on this planet, no doubt like it has on many other worlds. We are just in our adolescence as a species.

Well, it's a nice vision anyway... I am hoping our children and grand children will embrace it.

"Act as if ye have faith and faith will be given unto thee"

[hollysmom]

1. We are approaching the lords and serf levels?

[TBF]

2. The masses may kill each other -

but the 1% is giving it a go as well through behavior such as ignoring please for minimum wage increases and refusing to install universal health coverage.