The Gap Between the Rich and the Poor

The gap between rich and poor in the world today. In the world of 1995, there are still huge differeces between rich and poor, developed and less developed countries. But why? Who is to blame? What can we do about it? Many things have been tried out to solve these problems, but does it work? It seems bizarre, that we, modern, intelligent people, have not yet succeeded

to get rid of the differences between DCs (developed countries) and LDCs (less developed countries). We try, don't we? Every year, we grant 2% of our Gross National Product, GNP, to foreign aid to help the LDCs to get a better standard of living (better agriculture, more and better schools and hospitals, access to health personell, medicines, etc.). On the other hand, is our standard of living the best for LDCs, and the one we should impose on them? For instance, what is the point of giving complex macinery like tractors and harvesters, which need expensive fuel and maintenance, to people who have harvested their crops by manpower for hundreds of years? We know for a fact that the money we grant is not being used adequately. A lot of the money is taken by the governments of the less developed countries, and a great amount of the sum are not being used to the purposes they are meant for. Bribery and corruption are huge problems in developing countries. It makes more sense to dig wells for people who walk for miles every day to get their daily water supply, than to support officials with BMWs and grand houses. The World Bank was established, and a large amound of capital was poured in, despite of the fact that the Third World lacked the level of infrastructure, the economic and social background, and the skilled personnel of Europe. The failure of this model of economic development to produce economic well-being and growth for most Third World countries is due to a number of factors. These factors include the concentration of economic resources in the hands of the rich and of unrepresentative governments, the exclusion of the large majority of affected populations from economic decisionmaking, and the integration of Southern economies in an international market where they cannot compete equitably. The industrialized countries are still holding the less developed countries down. It's the DCs who decide coffee-, tea- and sugar-prices, and consequently exercise

an indirect control of the countries' economy. We also protect ourselves with high import-taxes and low import-quotas. Increasing protectionism in Northern markets shut off some Third World exports, while at the same time, the