UN Poverty Expert Demands Fundamental Economic Restructuring
Olivier De Schutter, the United Nations special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, has issued a stark warning that the global economic system must be fundamentally reordered. He argues it must serve ordinary citizens worldwide rather than catering to what he describes as the "frivolous and destructive demands of the ultra-rich."
Moving Beyond Destructive Growth Models
De Schutter contends that politicians must cease prioritising what he terms "socially and ecologically destructive growth." This current model, he asserts, primarily increases profits and fulfills consumption demands for the world's wealthiest individuals and corporations. Instead, to address the interconnected crises of rising inequality, ecological collapse, and resurgent far-right politics, a completely new economic agenda is urgently required.
"The scarce resources we have should be used to prioritise the basic needs of people in poverty and to create what is of societal value rather than serve the frivolous desires of the ultra-rich," De Schutter stated emphatically.
He criticised an economic system that allocates limited resources to constructing large mansions instead of social housing, or to producing powerful private cars rather than developing comprehensive public transportation networks. Such an approach, he declared, is "grossly inefficient" and "will inevitably fail to satisfy the basic needs of people living on low incomes."
A Roadmap for Eradicating Poverty
This intervention follows the Guardian's recent Beyond Growth series, which highlighted calls to end the relentless pursuit of indiscriminate economic growth. Critics argue this focus is a primary driver of both ecological breakdown and widening inequality.
Next month, De Schutter will publish his comprehensive "roadmap for eradicating poverty beyond growth." This document results from an informal "beyond growth coalition" he established, comprising UN agencies, academics, civil society organisations, and trade unions.
The roadmap's primary objective is to broaden the policy options available to governments, multilateral institutions, and development agencies in the global fight against poverty. Key measures under consideration include:
- A universal basic income
- Government-backed job guarantees
- International debt cancellation programmes
- The implementation of an extreme wealth tax
Coordinated Global Initiatives
Significantly, De Schutter revealed that his roadmap will coincide with two other major international initiatives. The first is a project instigated by UN Secretary-General António Guterres, examining the replacement of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as the principal measure of economic success. The second is a report by a G20 panel of independent experts on global inequality, led by the renowned economist Joseph Stiglitz.
De Schutter noted that while many within the UN have recognised the "imperative of moving beyond growth" for years, their official mandates often prevent them from stating this politically at the highest levels. "There is a taboo still about questioning growth," he observed.
However, he believes this could change dramatically next month. The simultaneous release of these reports may allow high-profile global figures to, in his words, "come out of the closet" on the issue of growth.
"This moment offers us a realistic opportunity to shape the post-2030 agenda with a viable alternative that will reconcile planetary boundaries with social justice and the fight against poverty and inequalities. That's the challenge and the opportunity," De Schutter explained.
Proposing a New UN Body on Inequality
As a central part of this transformative process, De Schutter is advocating for the establishment of a permanent United Nations body specifically tasked with overseeing the global fight against inequality. This institution would aim to implement measures ensuring "the economy is redistributive and sustainable by design rather than encouraging destructive growth and then trying to make up for the mess that creates."
He proposed that this new body could operate similarly to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), established in 1988, which has coordinated international efforts to address the climate crisis.
"Like the IPCC we want the new body to not only collect the evidence of what is happening, but also to collect the evidence about the policy tools that can be used to achieve wellbeing without growth and reducing growth dependencies," De Schutter elaborated. "That is what we are trying to do. And I have to say, I have enormous enthusiasm from the various groups that support the initiative, in part because it's a very bottom-up collaboration."
Addressing the Plight of Developing Nations
Since his appointment as a UN special rapporteur in 2020, De Schutter has visited numerous low-income and developing countries. He reports that these nations are trapped in an economic model that prioritises a destructive form of growth.
"Although these countries still need to create resources to invest in hospitals, schools, infrastructure and so on, the growth that they are forced to pursue, particularly to reimburse their foreign debt … means they must export, and in order to export, they must produce not for their own population and not based on ecological considerations, but based solely on what the big buyers in global supply chains demand," he said.
The consequence, he argues, is frequently ecological devastation, suppressed wages, and minimal local investment or prosperity. "We need growth in these countries that is driven by domestic demand rather than by global markets, we need to encourage regional integration, south-south trade rather than north-south global supply chains, and we must put the needs of those people first to allow them to move out of poverty rather be trapped in a system that priorities the demands of the ultra-rich."
Financing Public Services Through Wealth Taxation
For wealthier developed nations, De Schutter indicated that next month's roadmap will detail how "public services and social protections" can be financed. The plan advocates taxing wealth and destructive economic activities instead of relying on indiscriminate economic growth across all sectors.
"It's a complex issue, but the key idea is that instead of public revenue being raised by taxing income from labour or economic activity, we should ensure that public revenue is raised by taxing wealth, financial assets, immovable property, financial transactions, and all the ills of the economy, including from the extractive industry and especially of fossil energy," he clarified.
He was careful to distinguish this proposed transition from economic recession or unplanned stagnation, such as that witnessed after the 2008 financial crisis or the Great Depression of 1929. "We should avoid the confusion between recession or stagnation of the kind we saw after 2008 or 1929 and the carefully planned and democratically controlled transition to something else," De Schutter emphasised.
Building a Coalition for Change
De Schutter confirmed that the proposals to be unveiled next month have garnered support from a broad coalition, including leading economists, academics, UN bodies, trade unions, and non-governmental organisations.
"There's a realistic opportunity that we'll be able to present something that for the post-2030 agenda will be a viable alternative, reconciling planetary boundaries with social justice and the fight against poverty and inequalities. That's the challenge. If we don't manage, well, the far-right populists will have their way," he concluded, underscoring the high stakes of the proposed economic transformation.
