SOC 3- Intersectional inequalities

What is neocolonialism in the context of IMF debt enforcement?

Neocolonialism refers to the continuation of colonial dynamics via structural economic dependency. The IMF enforces austerity in the Global South, maintaining a racial-colonial matrix of power.

What does Boatcă say about the persistence of global inequality? (2015)

Global inequalities have persisted not despite but because of the hierarchical organization of the world system established during colonialism.”

What does Boatcă mean by the "coloniality of power"? (2015)

It is the invisible structure that normalizes Western dominance over knowledge, wealth, and development narratives.
Quote: "Coloniality of power operates as an invisible structure, normalizing the idea that wealth and knowledge are naturally concentrated in the West."

How does Bahmbra critique local elites in the context of post-colonial governance?

Bahmbra argues that local bourgeoisie often become complicit in maintaining global hierarchies through state power post-decolonisation

What is the developmentalist narrative and how is it critiqued?

It claims poverty is decreasing globally, but ignores regional disparities and presents selective data to justify the current global economic order.

What do Chancel and Piketty argue about global income inequality over time? (2021)

"The top 10% of earners consistently captured more than half of global income."

What is Harvey’s concept of “accumulation by dispossession”? (2003)

It describes how capitalism sustains itself by privatizing and expropriating public resources from the Global South.
Quote: “Accumulation by dispossession systematically expropriated the resources of vulnerable groups in the pursuit of profit.”

What’s problematic about the $2.15/day poverty threshold?

It masks real levels of poverty. At $6.85/day, around 40% of the world is impoverished. Institutions like the World Bank use lower thresholds to present misleading progress

What does Federici argue about capitalism and gender? (2004)

“The development of capitalism required a profound transformation in the position of women, a degradation of their social status, and a redefinition of their reproductive function.”

What is the “patriarchy of the wage”?

: A concept from Federici describing how capitalist systems reinforced gender inequality by relying on women’s unpaid reproductive labor (Federici, 2004).

What does Mies & Shiva say about GDP and gender? (2020)

The economic model focusing myopically on ‘growth’ begins with violence against women by discounting their contribution to the economy.

What does Criado-Perez say about the exclusion of women’s labor? (2019)

“Unpaid childcare, for instance, being valued as roughly 20% of the US GDP.”

What does Moore argue about capitalism and nature? (2018)

“Capitalism prioritises profit over people and planet.”

What does Bullard say about environmental racism? (2000)

Marginalised communities bear the costs of ecological degradation.”

What does Hankivsky argue about health inequality? (2012)

“The health disparities [are] compounded by systemic racism.”

What is racial capitalism? (1983)

A concept by Cedric Robinson describing how capitalism always relied on racial hierarchies to extract and exploit labor.
Quote: “Racism is fundamentally inherent within capitalism.” (Robinson, 1983)

How is women’s labour tied to environmental risk?

Women often manage food, water, and energy at the household level and are hit hardest by environmental breakdowns​

What is “primitive accumulation” (Marx)?

The violent expropriation of land, labor, and resources that laid the foundations for capitalism

What is the "elephant graph"?

A visual showing global income growth between 1988–2008 — rising for global middle class but stagnation for lower-middle classes in the Global North, and huge gains for the 1%.

Chancel & Piketty on inequality trends:

"The bottom 50% of the world’s population captured just 8% of global income in 2020, while the top 10% captured 52%"​

What does Melamid say about women of colour in the labour market? (2015)

“Women of colour are systemically forced into low-paying, precarious jobs, namely caregiving, domestic work or agricultural labour.”

What does Moore argue about environmental exploitation? (2018)

The systematic exploitation of land and resources is fundamentally intertwined with the racialised and gendered nature of labour.”

What does the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs say about Indigenous peoples and climate vulnerability? (2020)

476 million Indigenous people worldwide [are] vulnerable to climate change owing to their reliance on natural resources and ecosystems.” (UN DESA, 2020)

What does the CDC report about maternal mortality among Black women in the US? (2022)

“Black women are approximately three times more likely to die during childbirth as opposed to white women.” (CDC, 2022)

What does Criado-Perez say about gendered data exclusion in low-income countries? (2019)

“Despite accounting for up to 80% of GDP in low-income countries, unpaid care work is empirically excluded from economic measurement.”