Distribution of Wealth for Sustainable Happiness

The richest one percent of the entire population of the world now owns more than half of the global wealth which shows global wealth is unequally distributed. Moreover, this is assumed that sustainable growth is impossible based on impossibility theorem. Considering the above, the study has been conducted and critically overviewed the wealth distribution of an ancient period based on Islamic rules and practice. Upon study, it has been found that people are very much self-centered and unaware of the broader perspective like searching happiness instead of immediate wealth maximization. The finding has also shown that right of inheritances, relatives, neighbors, society, and state should be defined clearly and need distribution of wealth based on definition. If we become more self-centered, we will find ourselves helpless. Here, wealth means knowledge and physical assets.

Dimensions of Rural Poverty as Social Problems

This chapter uses a sociological approach to tackle poverty as a social problem. As a social problem, sociologists believe poverty is linked to the distribution of wealth and power structures and how political, economic, institutional arrangements, and historical conditions shape our lives and the possibilities to survive in a competitive world. They use analytic framework that shifts from the current popular focus of blaming the victim to addressing the inequalities of the distribution of power, wealth, and opportunity. Second, the chapter broadens the poverty reduction narrative to recognize that studying poverty is not the same thing as studying the poor. This framework turns empirical attention to political, economic, institutional, and historical conditions, as well as the policy decisions that shape the distribution of power and wealth, and interventions that seek to change the conditions of structural inequality and social stratification rather than narrowly focusing on changing the poor.

Social Justice as an Incentive and a Brake on Economic Development: The Contradictions of the USSR as Challenges for the Future

The article examines the experience of the USSR in the field of solving the problem of correlation between social justice and economic efficiency. The characteristics of those aspects of Soviet experience in the sphere of implementation of social justice principles in the sphere of labor and distribution, which have potential for application in the conditions of modern capitalism to respond to the current challenges, are outlined. Firstly, it is noted that social justice is not reduced to inequality of income and distribution of wealth but is considered in connection with the human factor of economic development. In an expanded understanding, social justice includes a measure of access to basic resources such as labour, housing, education, health and other areas of human development. The experience of the USSR is characterised by the fact that, on the one hand, the universal availability and security of these basic resources (public goods) created the grounds for stimulating human development. On the other hand, the violation of these declared principles in practice (due to the development of bureaucratic privileges and benefits, the shadow economy, etc.) caused serious negative incentives, which became one of the elements in the system of reasons for the departure of “real socialism” from the historical scene. Secondly, the article points out that the Soviet system of income generation based on the principles of labour distribution was a combination of planned-normative and market-capitalist principles designed to create economic “egoistic” incentives. To the extent that this system was implemented, it succeeded in stimulating productivity and labour (but not market) initiative. But the manifestation, and in later stages of the USSR's development – in some cases the predominance, of bureaucratic-voluntarist foundations in the system created rather negative incentives. Relations of alienation in the sphere of appropriation and disposal of public property undermined socialist incentives to work and social innovation. The author concludes that some of the achievements of the Soviet system in the realisation of social justice are possible and effective in meeting the challenge of sustainable development in the 21st century. In particular, practices that were developed in the Soviet system, such as the provision of basic goods that are publicly available and free to users, the use of forms of work organisation based on a combination of competition, solidarity and self-government, etc., remain important.

Resilience Ethics and Sustainable Governance

Resilience ethics means a shared ethical responsibility for our actions and environment. Sustainable governance is interested in the complexity of sustainability and the rise of resilience thinking. There are multiple ways to apply the idea of resilience to shared narratives about public problems and environmental concerns for the future. In particular, resilience ethics are related to human interventions in ecosystems and the resultant responsibility to care for them. The integration of resilience and sustainability leads us to study the distribution of wealth and other root causes of social inequality and injustice. The current paper argues that institutional change and collective action are critical elements in society’s resilience. Therefore, three global problems should be addressed as the focus of resilience and sustainability: (1) divided societies and growing inequalities should be considered in terms of income distribution, employment, and education; (2) wealth and power should be redistributed in terms of common-pool resources and affected communities; and (3) intersectional inequality should be reconsidered in different axes of oppression and social injustice. A renewed perspective for democratic and responsible citizenship is required to enhance direct citizen participation in public policies and social change. In this regard, social and administrative scientific advances create opportunities for the resilient future.

The 2020s political economy of machine translation

This article specifies and explores the hypothesis that the diversity of human languages, right now a barrier to “interoperability” in communication and trade, will become significantly less of a barrier as machine translation technologies are deployed over the next several years. We argue that machine translation will become the 2020's analogy for ideas, to what container shipping did for goods trade in the second half of the twentieth century. But as with container shipping or railroads in the nineteenth century, this new boundary-cost and transaction-cost reducing technology does not reduce all boundary and transaction costs equally, and so creates new challenges for the distribution of ideas and thus for innovation and economic growth. How we develop, license, commercialize, and deploy machine translation will be a critical determinant of its impact on trade, political coalitions, diversity of thought and culture, and the distribution of wealth.

Uncovering the Gender Agenda - The Impacts of Fair Trade on Gender Relations in Chile

<p>Neoliberalism has perpetuated social inequality on a global scale. Augusto Pinochet’s neoliberal experiment would have significant repercussions on Chilean society. The evolution of export agriculture propelled Chile to economic success; a pioneer for the Latin American region. Unfortunately, macroeconomic advancements did not correlate to improvements in social equality. Fair trade, an alternative economic model, emerged in response to these growing inequalities. The movement promotes a more equitable distribution of wealth, despite operating within the neoliberal economy. Furthermore, the movement represents a promise of improved livelihoods to the producers and communities which have been marginalised by the predominant neoliberal system. The application of fair trade across Latin America has been extensive. In response to increased consumer demands, the range and volume of fair trade initiatives has continued to flourish. Chilean fair trade has demonstrated incredible potential through promoting improvements in labour conditions and community development. Furthermore, the low numbers of fair trade participants have proven beneficial in minimising opportunities for corruption. However, a lack of awareness has remained the largest barrier to future fair trade expansion in Chile. One of the most significant, yet controversial consequences of the export evolution was the emergence of the temporera labour force. Despite associations with severe labour abuses, temporera employment has improved significantly over the past thirty years. The temporeras of El Palqui have attributed these remarkable improvements to increased government support and union representation. Unfortunately, gender inequality continues to plague Chile, both within agriculture and on a national scale. Fair trades clauses on gender equality have demonstrated incredible potential to influence and improve gender relations in Chile. Collaboration between fair trade, alternative ethical trading initiatives, civil society and government appears to be particularly promising. Cooperation between these institutions holds the potential to transform opportunities for female exploitation into opportunities for their empowerment.</p>

Uncovering the Gender Agenda - The Impacts of Fair Trade on Gender Relations in Chile

<p>Neoliberalism has perpetuated social inequality on a global scale. Augusto Pinochet’s neoliberal experiment would have significant repercussions on Chilean society. The evolution of export agriculture propelled Chile to economic success; a pioneer for the Latin American region. Unfortunately, macroeconomic advancements did not correlate to improvements in social equality. Fair trade, an alternative economic model, emerged in response to these growing inequalities. The movement promotes a more equitable distribution of wealth, despite operating within the neoliberal economy. Furthermore, the movement represents a promise of improved livelihoods to the producers and communities which have been marginalised by the predominant neoliberal system. The application of fair trade across Latin America has been extensive. In response to increased consumer demands, the range and volume of fair trade initiatives has continued to flourish. Chilean fair trade has demonstrated incredible potential through promoting improvements in labour conditions and community development. Furthermore, the low numbers of fair trade participants have proven beneficial in minimising opportunities for corruption. However, a lack of awareness has remained the largest barrier to future fair trade expansion in Chile. One of the most significant, yet controversial consequences of the export evolution was the emergence of the temporera labour force. Despite associations with severe labour abuses, temporera employment has improved significantly over the past thirty years. The temporeras of El Palqui have attributed these remarkable improvements to increased government support and union representation. Unfortunately, gender inequality continues to plague Chile, both within agriculture and on a national scale. Fair trades clauses on gender equality have demonstrated incredible potential to influence and improve gender relations in Chile. Collaboration between fair trade, alternative ethical trading initiatives, civil society and government appears to be particularly promising. Cooperation between these institutions holds the potential to transform opportunities for female exploitation into opportunities for their empowerment.</p>

Demand, dysfunction and distribution: The UK growth model from neoliberalism to the knowledge economy

Theories of ‘growth models’ explain capitalist diversity by reference to shifting drivers of aggregate demand in different national economies. This article expands the growth models framework beyond its conventional focus on debt-driven and export-driven demand, through an ideational analysis of Thatcher’s vision of a property-owning democracy, and Blair’s knowledge-driven growth agenda. Drawing on policymakers’ statements, it shows how these hypothetical growth models differed from the debt-driven growth model that ultimately prevailed. Using data on the distribution of wealth and wages, it highlights how both approaches failed to generate sustainable demand; in Thatcher’s case, because of an insufficiently broad distribution of capital ownership, in Blair’s case, because of an insufficiently broad distribution of lucrative knowledge work. This indicates that explanations of dysfunctional growth models need to consider not just the split of national income between labour and capital, but also the distribution of both labour income and capital income between households.

From Potholes to Policy: How Invercargill City Council Informs Itself of and has Regard to, the Views of all of its Communities

<p>In the 1990s, governments in the Western world were seeking solutions to the economic and social dysfunction resulting from a decade of pure neo-liberal policies. Increased inequalities in the distribution of wealth, the promotion of individualism at the expense of community and citizens feeling alienated from government had become critical problems, nowhere more so than in New Zealand. A solution that has been adopted is to reconnect government at all levels with citizens and the civic sector. The good governance agenda proposed increased transparency and accountability of government to citizens, and a new role for citizens as participants and partners. It became the foundation for a fundamental reform of local government in New Zealand, resulting in the Local Government Act 2002. However, the acquisition of a right to participate does not necessarily lead to knowledge of that right and the capacity to exercise it on the part of citizens: nor the willingness to allow it on the part of government. There are also more general questions about the exercise of power, about representation and about whose voices are heard. This thesis, through a case study of Invercargill City Council, a local government authority in Southland, New Zealand, examines these issues relating to citizen participation and the extent to which the Council has been able to create an environment and processes that enable all of its communities to participate. In doing so, it draws on a body of literature in the field of Development Studies, where participatory theory and practice have held centre stage for almost two decades. The thesis asks whether the lessons learned in that field could inform the practice of citizen participation in local government in New Zealand.</p>