Prometheus 6   

No shyt, Sherlock

Social development has halted in US since 1980

WASHINGTON: Social conditions in the United States have not improved since 1980, putting the world's only superpower on a par with Poland and Slovenia in the latest edition of an index that measures development in 163 countries.

That conclusion was drawn by Richard Estes of the University of Pennsylvania, who released his findings at a scholarly conference in Frankfurt, Germany on Monday, the university said in a statement.

Using data from the United Nations and the World Bank, Estes looked at 40 different factors to come up with his Weighted Index of Social Progress. They include health, education, human rights, political participation, population growth, the status of women, cultural diversity, 'freedom from social chaos', military spending and environmental protection.

At the top of the list were Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland; at the bottom, Afghanistan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Sierra Leone. The US ranked 27th.

"Chronic poverty is the greatest threat to social progress in the United States," Estes was quoted as saying. "More than 33 million Americans -- almost 12 million of them children -- are poor."

"Contrary to public perception, the majority of the poor in the United States are members of established family households who work full-time and are white. No other economically advanced country tolerates such a level of poverty."

Other challenges to social progress in the United States include a sluggish economy, growing unemployment, unequal access to health care and deteriorating schools in urban areas, the statement said. Twenty-one African and Asian countries are nearing 'social collapse', Estes said, citing poverty, weak political institutions, economic woes, disease and isolation.

"These roadblocks to progress are contributing to global social unrest, including religious fundamentalism and terrorism. Rich countries ignore the desperate plight of the world's poorest nations at our own risk." Conditions are especially bad in Middle, West and East Africa -- worse than they were in 1990. The most rapid social improvements are seen in South Central and Western Asia, linked to emergence of democratic countries and the oil wealth of Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Social improvement in China is progressing rapidly, with that nation moving from 73rd on the index in 1980, to 69th.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 7/22/2003 07:13:41 PM |