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As we enter the 21st century, the gap between the world’s rich and poor is widening, both with in and among countries. 1. The vast majority of the world’s population is receiving an ever-decreasing share of its collective wealth, while the share claimed by a few rich nations and individuals is steadily growing. In 2001 Forbes magazine counted 538 billionaires with a total net worth of 1.7 trillion dollars, while the United Nations identified 2.8 billion people surviving on less than two dollars a day. Overall, the richest 20 percent of the world’s people control 86 percent of global income, while the poorest 20 percent control barely one percent.
The impacts of this widening rich-poor gap are varied and worrisome. 2. They include environmental destruction—richer nations and individuals can afford to over-consume resources, poorer nations and individuals are forced to over-exploit the environment just to survive. They include migration—people are forced to, move in search of adequate resources. And they include conflict—wealthier nations and individuals fight to keep what they have, while those suffering a lack of resources fight to obtain them. 3. Because poorer groups typically lack the assets and technology to conduct large-scale conventional war to obtain their goals, they often resort to low-intensity conflict and terrorism.
The causes of this global disparity are diverse and complex, but include colonial era trading patterns that favor industrialized nations; the globalization of economies and economic structures, in which poor nations struggle to compete; a growing "digital divide" characterized by lack of access to information technology; inadequate governance and protection of law; and lack of access to education, healthcare, and social safety nets, especially for women and girls.
4. Individuals and nations need not remain in poverty indefinitely, however. With an awareness of the interdependence of our modern world and a concerted political will, it is possible to reverse this trend that threatens to divide the world against itself. And reversing this trend would have powerful and positive impacts on our future.
5. Bringing the nearly 5 billion people of the less industrialized world into a sustainable economy through "pro-poor" policies would provide a tremendous boost to the world economy, as well as to those people. With increased economic opportunities come improved access to nutrition, education, and health care. With those come higher income, greater autonomy—especially for women—and the opportunity to pursue environmentally sound technologies and products. 3. Because poorer groups typically lack the assets and technology to conduct large-scale conventional war to obtain their goals, they often resort to low-intensity conflict and terrorism.

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