The End of Poverty? (2008)

A phenomenal discourse on why poverty exists when there is so much wealth in the world. A must see for anyone wanting to understand not only the US economic system but the foundations of today's global economy.

Director:

Philippe Diaz

Writer:

Philippe Diaz

Stars:

John Christensen, William Easterly, Susan George

Cast

Credited cast:
John Christensen	...	Himself
William Easterly	...	Himself
Susan George	...	Herself
Chalmers Johnson	...	Himself
Alvaro García Lineras	...	Himself
John Perkins	...	Himself
Amartya Sen	...	Himself
Martin Sheen	...	Narrator (voice)
Joseph Stiglitz	...	Himself
Eric Toussaint	...	Himself

Storyline

The End of Poverty? asks if the true causes of poverty today stem from a deliberate orchestration since colonial times which has evolved into our modern system whereby wealthy nations exploit the poor. People living and fighting against poverty answer condemning colonialism and its consequences; land grab, exploitation of natural resources, debt, free markets, demand for corporate profits and the evolution of an economic system in in which 25% of the world's population consumes 85% of its wealth. Featuring Nobel Prize winner Amartya Sen and Joseph Stiglitz, authors/activist Susan George, Eric Toussaint, Bolivian Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera and more.

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Plot Keywords:

poverty | exploitation | land grab | free market | nobel prize | 

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Taglines:

In a world where there is so much wealth, why is there still so much poverty?

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Genres:

Documentary

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [fr]

Country:

USA

Language:

English French Portuguese Spanish

Release Date:

16 December 2009 (France)

Also Known As:

Progress vs. Property

Filming Locations:

Bolivia

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$12,593 (USA) (13 November 2009)

Gross:

$57,324 (USA) (19 March 2010)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinema Libre Studio, Robert Schalkenbach Foundation, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

User Reviews

Great Documentary! A must-see!

Just watched it last night at the Athens International Film Festival. This is the kind of documentary I love! It gives you an excellent overview of how the so-called First World has been exploiting the natural resources and human labour of Third World countries for the past 500 years and how the economics and politics behind this brutal exploitation work. This movie is completely different to the Michael Moore-style documentaries that seem to dominate the scene nowadays. Rather than using populism to impress the audience, it presents its case by providing both the opinion of highly respected economists, authors and political advisors, as well as the view of third world people that have been actually experiencing the consequences of the neo-liberal policies. An insight on the methods used by the West (the US in particular) to promote and impose their preferred policies to Third World countries is one of the strongest points of this movie. I am not going to expand on that as I do not want to spoil it for you! In any case, this is a brilliant documentary worth seeing by anyone who has the slightest interest in politics and economics.