But in reality it is a political problem- poverty doesn't just exist, it has been created.Poor countries are poor because they are integrated into the global economic system on unequal terms. What is causing this growing divide? We are told that poverty is a natural phenomenon that can be fixed with aid. The richest eight people now control the same amount of wealth as the poorest half of the world combined. Some 1 billion live on less than $1 a day. Today 4.3 billion people, 60 per cent of the world's population, live on less than $5 per day. But is it true? Since 1960, the income gap between the North and South has roughly tripled in size.

It's a comforting tale, and one that is endorsed by the world's most powerful governments and corporations. We have been told that development is working- that the global South is catching up to the North, that poverty has been cut in half over the past thirty years, and will be eradicated by 2030.

In The Divide, Jason Hickel brilliantly lays it out, layer upon layer, until you are left reeling with the outrage of it all.' - Kate Raworth, author of Doughnut Economics For decades we have been told a story about the divide between rich countries and poor countries. **As seen on Sky News All Out Politics** 'There's no understanding global inequality without understanding its history.

The divide jason hickel review