Most MDGs will be missed says OXFAM Researcher

from the Independent, Uganda

Oxfam International’s head of research, author Duncan Green visited Uganda last week to launch and discuss his 2008 publication From Poverty to Power; How Active Citizens and Effective States can Change the World. He spoke to The Independent.

When did writing this book start and what is the inspiration for it?

Writing began in 2006. We had the idea of building an NGO narrative which links current debates with Oxfam’s experience on the ground in over 70 countries.

You suggest in your book that big International organisations like UN, Oxfam, WTO, WHO G8, don’t rule the world, but the UN and America influence the world in different ways, how is this?

Development is primarily national, based on the interaction between citizens and states. Rich countries and the multilateral system can help or hinder that process, but they are not the main actors.

Why do you think many international organisations consider Africa as an emergency case that should be given aid through and through?

Because it has the deepest levels of poverty and the highest levels of conflict, compared to other regions

Most economic inequalities in the world are result of unequal natural resources geographical distribution. How do you expect countries to go about with a redistribution of natural resources from a wider world perspective?

Not true. Inequalities are more a matter of political and social structures than of natural resources themselves. That’s why redistribution starts with redistribution of power. You say the lead cause of poverty world over is inequality; of power and opportunities. Some people might disagree, That’s up to them!

What is the place of tax in reducing inequality? And doesn’t a progressive tax, which you advocate, keep inequalities at a constant?

Tax is a central means of redistributing wealth, ensuring a minimum quality of life for all, and building a link between citizen and state. A progressive tax is only progressive if it redistributes from rich to poor, so inequality will not remain constant.

2015 is so close; do you think the Millennium development goals would be achieved by that time? Universal primary education, eradication of poverty, gender equality etc

Poverty MDG is likely to be met, largely due to astonishing progress in China. Most others will be missed.

Your book suggests a world that stands as one. What do you think of the endless and rather ridiculous bouts of racial violence in the western world?

It combination of ‘fear of the other’, rapidity of social change making people feel anxious and look for scapegoats, and manipulation by politicians.

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