The Divide

In The Divide: A Brief Guide to Global Inequality and its Solutions (الفجوة), economic anthropologist Jason Hickel challenges the comforting narrative that global poverty is declining and the world is becoming more equal. Through rigorous data and clear historical analysis, Hickel reveals that global inequality is not an accident, but a structural outcome of the global capitalist system. He details how international trade rules, structural adjustment programs, tax havens, and climate destruction systematically drain wealth from the Global South to benefit rich nations in the Global North. Far from just diagnosing the crisis, Hickel proposes radical, achievable solutions—including debt cancellation, fair trade structures, and post-growth economic models designed to restore global justice and balance.

Because it dismantles conventional economic myths with facts, providing an essential, eye-opening perspective on global trade, poverty, and post-colonial economics.

For students and readers of political economy, global development, social justice, international relations, and anyone interested in sustainable economic reform.