For an economy of life

In 2003, 7.7 million persons owned wealth worth US$ one million or

more. The sum of their wealth reached US$ 28.9 trillion, or almost

three times the United States national product that same year. In the

meantime, 840 million people worldwide are undernourished and 1.5

billion - the majority of whom are women, children, and Indigenous

Peoples - live on less than one dollar a day. The world’s richest 20 percent

account for 86 percent of global consumption of goods and services.

The annual income of the richest 1% is equal to that of the poorest

57%, and at least 24,000 people die each day from poverty and

malnutrition. Environmental problems - global warming, depletion of

natural resources, and loss of biodiversity - loom ever larger. For instance,

we will lose 30 to 70 percent of the world’s biodiversity in a time span of

20 to 30 years. Wars rage in many parts of the world, and militarization

and violence have become part of our daily existence. Financial crises

have become more frequent and intense. Joblessness is becoming

pervasive, threatening the people’s livelihoods. In a word: human life

and the earth are under grave threat.

This text is from AGAPE, A background document, Justice, Peace and Creation Team, World Council of Churches, Geneva, 2005