Poverty, wealth and ecology: impact of economic globalization

Through economic globalization, the structures of trade and finance are increasingly widening the gap between the rich and the poor, posing threats to global peace and to the earth.  

At the 2006 WCC assembly in Porto Alegre, it was evident that there are divergent ways of analyzing and acting on this reality; there is hope that the WCC may be able to develop a new paradigm that draws different positions on this question together.

This project encourages churches to explore and advocate for alternatives to economic globalization. It is an attempt to bring churches and ecumenical partners from North, South, East and West together to reflect and act together on finding new and creative ways to use global wealth to eradicate poverty. It encourages them to create new synergies between different standpoints on poverty, wealth, and ecology. 

In the context of the AGAPE (Alternative to Economic Globalization Addressing Peoples and Earth) process that began before 2006, the project will follow up work with ecumenical partners, focussing on issues such as just trade, debt cancellation, financial markets, tax evasion, public goods and services, livelihoods and decent jobs, life-giving agriculture, power and empire, and ecological debt. 

While many studies have provided information on people in poverty, little is known about the rich. The churches will be challenged to develop a "consumption and greed line" alongside the "poverty line" as a guideline for Christians. 

A case study and workshop methodology will bring together experiences of churches regionally and globally. Churches will be encouraged to bring  their stories and actions on how they deal with poverty and wealth to regional workshops. Seminars will be organized at the World Social Forum. Encounters raising issues of poverty, wealth and ecology will continue with the WB and the IMF. 

Persons responsible for economic justice in the churches or those addressing issues of poverty and wealth will be identified so as to form a creative and active network, and a reference group will include representatives of those working on ecological debt, women, youth, Indigenous Peoples and people with disabilities.

Examples for the interconnections between economic and ecological inequities. Photos: Flickr, Nigeria 2006, Guatemala 2007.
This background document is based on the findings of a series of church consultations and studies on globalization organized by the WCC and other ecumenical organizations over the period since the 1998 WCC assembly in Harare.
This document is the result of work on economic globalization from Harare to Porto Alegre. It was prepared by the commission for Justice, Peace and Creation under the direction of the central committee.
Ecumenical conversation at the WCC's 9th assembly 2006, with sections on: overcoming health threats in the context of HIV/AIDS; bioethics and the challenges of new technologies; caring for the earth's resources; the agenda of racism; zero tolerance for violence against women and children
Paper prepared for the WCC by the Ecumenical Coalition for Economic Justice, a project of Canadian churches. Contents: introduction; mobilizing domestic financing for development; trade; increasing international financial cooperation; debt; addressing systemic issues; conclusion, glossary, bibliography
This declaration is the result of a consultation held on January 11 – 14, 2004 in Stony Point, New York, USA. We gathered as people of God coming from churches in Canada, the United States and Mexico and also from other regions of the world.
Document issued at a high-level encounter between the three organizations at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva (22 October 2004)
The International Financial Institutions (IFIs) are concerned about their public image. They advertise and defend their goals and practices. Most captivating is the attraction by the flow of money they control and the power invested in them. The following paragraphs point to some of the traps and temptations in so many debates about the role and character of the IFIs in global economy and politics.
"On the eve of the third millennium, the jubilee assembly of the WCC must ponder God's jubilee command and Christ's proclamation, which affirms this vision." This document on debt was issued by the WCC's 8th assembly in 1998.

 
Related publications

Beyond Poverty and Affluence

Bob Goudzwaard, Harry de Lange - In the face of distressing societal realities – poverty, pollution and environmental degradation, ongoing losses in both the quantity and the quality of work – the authors argue that the foundations of our local, national and international economic order need renewal, and they provide a provocative twelve-step programme for economic recovery based on an "economy of care" for the earth and its people.

Christianity, Poverty and Wealth: The Findings of “Project 21”

Michael Taylor - In spite of 60 years of aid and development work by the churches, the ecumenical family has become less certain about how best to tackle world poverty. This study asked questions about the nature and causes of poverty and wealth, their relation to the work and teachings of the churches, and what responses the churches should now be making. Poor and rich communities, government officials, academics, non-governmental organizations, church leaders and the private sector in over 24 countries were involved. The conclusions emphasize that "wealth" is as much of an issue as "poverty", suggesting the need for much clearer Christian teaching on justice and the economic order.

Wealth Creation and Justice: The WCC’s Encounters with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund

These institutions, set up soon after the end of the second world war, all speak of a world free of poverty, yet they have very different views on how poverty can be tackled. Can it be resolved, for example, by mere growth without redistribution? Or by privatizing basic services like water? The report of this first encounter raises the issues of the mandates of the institutions, their views on development, and their policies on wealth creation, justice and commodification of public goods.

A Caring Economy - A Feminist Contribution to AGAPE

In order to effect real and much-needed reforms in the global trading and financial system, it is essential for women around the world - from different regions as well as from the academe, church and grassroots movements - to organize themselves and to network for joint awareness-building, study and advocacy. This booklet attempts to provide a feminist contribution to the WCC's work on Alternatives to Globalisation Addressing People and Earth (AGAPE).

Wealth, poverty, ecology and their links

How does wealth creation result in the scandal of poverty today? How far does exploitation of the Earth put the poor and marginalised closer to the edge? How can we transform this inequality to a shared wealth? (pdf, 523 KB)

 
Related activities
Study on poverty & wealth
A new study on poverty and wealth with a particular focus on Africa