Tackling poverty through sociology

The repeated use of the term 'inclusive' growth in the capitalist literature of late and the recurrent yearning in such literature for eliminating what is being described as growing 'inequality' between the rich haves and the poor have-nots make one wonder if the champions of capitalism are not losing faith in the ideology around which they had built their utopia.
In fact the authors of recent capitalist literature seem to be drawing their inspiration from concepts developed but practised only half-heartedly by the now defunct communist countries. More likely they seemed to have been impressed by the success achieved by the social market economy being practised in China.
For obvious reasons the terminology's used by Marx, Lenin and Mao in their attempts to introduce communist-socialist ideologies are being religiously avoided by these authors of the latest capitalist literature and instead are trying perhaps to say the same thing but using terms that do not remind their followers of the concepts that they had rejected as being the harbingers of dystopia.
Interestingly, the capitalist world seems to be gradually losing its faith in economists as well. One detects a growing feeling in the rich world that economist alone would not be able to solve the problems that capitalism and its no-holds-barred free market economy have given rise to. Now it is turning to sociologists as well to find ways to promoting 'inclusive' growth and reducing the ever-widening 'inequality' gap between the rich and the poor.
In a recent piece (What if Sociologists Had as Much Influence as Economists?) contributed to the Economic View section of New York Times on March 17, 2017 by Neil Irwin the writer observes that while economists tend to view a job as a straightforward exchange of labor for money, a wide body of sociological research shows how tied up work is with a sense of purpose and identity.
Quoting Herbert Gans, an emeritus professor of sociology at Columbia Irwin further observes that wages are very important because of course they help people live and provide for their families but what social values can do is say that unemployment isn't just losing wages, it's losing dignity and self-respect and a feeling of usefulness and all the things that make human beings happy and able to function.
"That seems to be doubly true in the United States. For example, Ofer Sharone, a sociologist at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, studied unemployed white-collar workers and found that in the United States, his subjects viewed their ability to land a job as a personal reflection of their self-worth rather than as an arbitrary matter. They therefore took rejection hard, blaming themselves and in many cases giving up looking for work.
"Sociology also offers important lessons about poverty that economics alone does not. "Evicted," a much-heralded book by the Harvard sociologist Matthew Desmond, shows how the ever-present risk of losing a home breeds an insecurity and despondency among poor Americans.
"And a large body of sociological research touches on the idea of stigmatisation, including of the poor and of racial minorities. It makes clear that there are harder problems to solve around these issues than simply eliminating overt discrimination. Professor Gans of Columbia has argued for decades that the stigmatisation of poor Americans fuels entrenched, persistent poverty."
Market extremism, often labelled neoliberalism, which has shaped our national and global policies for the past three decades, has become a toxic fuel for the stuttering engine for global growth, says Klaus Schwab (We need a new narrative for globalisation) in a piece published in 'The Weekly Agenda' of World Economic Forum (WEF) published on March 17, 2017. Schwab is the founder and Executive Chairman, WEF.
Discussing the reasons for the emerging crisis Schwab blames the global economic system for moving away from focusing on meeting the needs and aspirations of crucial segments of society who feel they are living in a precarious situation, to focusing on the optimisation of the system itself.
"As such, individuals want to regain control of their livelihoods and seek out more than material satisfaction. People are searching for meaning and purpose in their lives - lives that are not solely defined by economics and business, but which also encompass social and cultural affinities. Many people feel spiritually isolated in a globalized world and long for a socio-economic context in which greater emphasis is placed again on shared values and less on impersonal rules."
In addition, he said, the legitimacy of a purely market-driven global economy was undermined by a growing number of systemic challenges, such as:
-- The transition from a unipolar to a multipolar world, and consequently, to a world with competing societal concepts which challenge "Western" thinking;
-- Market power, corrupt practices and speculative financial practices distorting the fairness of markets and the process of real long-term value creation;
-- Transformation of production processes, emphasising automation, capital and innovation over manual, and soon intellectual, labor;
-- The serious threat to the preservation and regeneration of our environment, caused by the excessive use and erosion of our natural resources.
"There is no new replacement or ready-made ideology that can be conveniently taken "off the shelf". Our priority should instead be to redesign our economic and social systems, taking into consideration that humankind, thanks to global interconnectivity and the growing impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, is becoming more sophisticated, and the individual more emancipated.
"The Fourth Industrial Revolution will completely alter how we produce, how we consume, how we communicate and how we live. It will redefine the relationship between citizens and the state. It will provide us with great opportunities for enhancing the lives of individuals and societies. It will allow, if we get it right, a much more human-centered approach, fostering not only material satisfaction, but also genuine individual and societal well-being for all."
Meanwhile, for energy-deficient countries like Pakistan, an opportunity has opened up that would actually ensure more 'inclusive' growth and reduce the chances of a handful of persons cornering the nation's wealth at the cost of the rest.
In an article (3 things countries need to do today for an energy-secure future) published in the 'The Weekly Agenda' of the WEF on March 22, 2017, Roberto Boca, Head of Energy Industries, Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum, Geneva, has maintained that first, now no longer are countries limited by a lack of hydrocarbon endowment, or unsuitable geographic conditions for hydropower.
According to him, costs of renewable technologies have plummeted over recent years, allowing exploitation of natural resources which every country has, sunlight and wind. Many countries, he added, have already made improvement in this regard driven by a significant ramp up in the installed capacity of solar and wind energy. This action, he said, addressed a historic security of supply issue caused by overreliance on hydropower, which resulted in power cuts during droughts and required the combustion of expensive imported oil to pick up the slack.
Secondly, he said, substantial increases in energy efficiency will have both a positive impact on economic growth and development, through decreased energy intensity, reduced import bill and improved energy security.
"After all, the foundation of a secure energy system is to need less energy in the first place. Furthermore, emissions reductions will require a greater diversification of total primary energy supply to include a higher proportion of low carbon sources, including natural gas."
And thirdly, according to Bocca, the political disruptions of 2016 had shone a spotlight on the vast social inequalities that remain in some of the world's most developed economies as decades of policy focused on globalisation and growth have left large swathes of the population feeling left behind, harbouring a growing level of discontent which eventually resulted in votes for radical change. It has never been so important to establish inclusive energy systems that work for everyone.
"Beyond the pressing need to address the low levels of electrification in some developing countries, countries with comprehensive grids and a high quality of electricity supply face residual, and possibly growing, challenges with energy poverty. Affordable access to energy is a critical component of modern life, and countries need to make sure that the most vulnerable parts of their societies are provided for and protected. Energy poverty needs to be tackled at its foundations, through energy efficiency measures and helping consumers easily find the most affordable solutions to their energy needs. As the consumer increasingly becomes the center of the energy system, with the ability to produce, store or sell their own electricity, a concerted effort is needed to ensure that energy system inequality shrinks rather than grows."