100 Ways of Seeing an Unequal World

by Bob Sutcliffe

Book Overview

This highly original visual book is designed as a teaching aid -- for students in conventional courses as well as readers wanting to tease out for themselves an understanding of the contemporary world in which we live. Tested prior to publication in a number of teaching settings, the author builds on the fact that there is now a large body of statistical information about today's highly unequal world. Presenting it in visual form can greatly stimulate...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 185649814X
• ISBN13: 9781856498142
• Release Date: July 2001
• Publisher: Zed Books
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.1" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Knowing the facts allows you to address the facts

Bob Sutcliffe's graphs and charts are very interesting but his text has the limitation of becoming quickly dated with time. The book was published in 2001 and much of the data in his discussions and tables was derived from 1998 sources. Thus by 2008, when I read his book, the data was 10 years old. This is no fault of Sutcliffe, it is just that a book that is highly dependent on empirical evidence has the vulnerability of being quickly dated. However, in defense of the book, it should be pointed out that many of the trends he identifies are vast societal forces which move very slowly. In many cases 1998 data may be little different from 2008 data. In the introduction, Sutcliffe has an interesting interpretation of the neo-liberal economic philosophies of Thatcher and Reagan. He explains that these 'invisible hand' economic philosophies do not attempt to address inequality and do not advocate inequality, but rather accept that inequalities will occur in a free market system and that shifts in market forces spread the inequalities within and between countries in the balance of relative advantage. The auto workers of Detroit experience a disadvantage but all US citizens get better deals of Japanese cars. However these displaced workers move to industries or production with higher yield and it is possible that in their new positions they create relative advantage over the workers in a similar field in another country who then experience the economic consequences. Thus inequalities are seen as temporary as societies and the workforce shifts efforts and resources when another country or group of workers takes their work away from them through the process of relative advantage. Sutcliffe's charts would indicate that this is not the case primarily because of unequal political power between countries and within countries. Sutcliffe indicates that the market is not free enough to match the vision of Reagan and Thatcher. Monopolies and political power will repeatedly disrupt the process. The economic philosophy of Adam Smith and Ricardo is mauled in the political and protectionist process. Sutcliffe points out that the neo-liberal economists lack methods for addressing the imperfections of the system and thus lack the ability to address inequalities. Thus they leave the issue alone saying that in the long run the invisible hand of the free market will make the corrections. Sutcliffe point out that these neo-liberals are most concerned when inequalities are addressed through redistribution. As he states "Any attempt to redivide the cake will make it shrink. The poor will be better off with a small slice of a large cake than a large slice of a small cake." Sutcliffe counters with "There is considerable evidence to support a diametrically opposed proposition; that it is the inequality of the slices into which the case is cut that restricts its size. Keynes supports such a concept to say that inequality in income distribution reduced the level of aggregate

Big Statistics= Great Small Talk

This book is not a good read- it an excellent calender or mantra. Flip to any page look at the graph, read the explanatory paragraph and then sit back and absorb it. Tuck it away into that space of your brain that you pull out at social events and e-mail one liners, "Did you know that there are 512 Billionares while one in every four people lives off of 1$ a day?" This book does not preach, it just hits you over the head with statistics and easy to understand graphs. If you have ever wondered how countries and people within countries compare to the rest of the world then keep this on your coffee table and EAT IT UP with your coffee. Everything from Literacy Rates to Food to Labor Distribution is in this "book", making it a mini-crash course in World Health, Economics, Politics and Social Change all at once. Clear, big font, has details if you want them, and half the book is nothin' but pictures.