The End of Poverty - Book Review

'The End of Poverty', a book by economist Jeffrey Sachs is a fantastic resource for those interested in The Way of Justice, and particularly the issue of Extreme Poverty.

Jeffrey Sachs is a leading economist from the USA. He was involved in bringing about free-market reforms and associated development in Bolivia, Poland, Russia, China, India and Africa. He works at Columbia University and often consult to various governments.

The book addresses extreme poverty, the fact that 2.7 billion people survive on less than 2 dollars per day. Sachs argues that we know how to end extreme poverty and have the resources available to end extreme poverty. He claims that extreme poverty will eventually come to an end, but making an effort to end extreme poverty soon will save millions of lives.

The book outlines the facts of extreme poverty and tells enough stories to visualise the effects easily. The facts of various nations being successful in eliminating extreme poverty were surprising and encouraging.

The middle part of the book is a bit slow, as it describes the various big projects Sachs has undertaken over the past twenty years. It serves to establish his credentials and are interesting to a student of economic history, but are a diversion from the current problems of extreme poverty. More space could be devoted to current, successful, projects such as micro-credit schemes and global free-trade.

The last part of the book build a very careful and comprehensive argument for an approach that would eradicate extreme poverty. There is enough here to address the major concerns of sceptics. It is important, but long-winded for someone who is already keen for action to happen.

Sachs is an advocate for free-trade, open markets and a form of globalisation, as he sees it as a necessary pathway to material improvement for those in extreme poverty. This will set him at odds with those who oppose globalisation in any form. I found Sach's arguments convincing and I am now much less cynical about globalisation than I was before.

This is a great book, it goes beyond the hype that is a necessary part of charitable fund-raising and it provides a strong critique of current approaches to ending extreme poverty. Well worth having a copy for reading or referring to.

The End of Poverty by Jeffrey Sachs website
The UN Milleniunm Development Goals website