Chapter 8: Rich Above, Poor Below? Development and Inequality In International Relations

8.1: Case Study – Elysium (2013)

Earth’s a Mess, but Elysium’s Got Infinity Pools

In the world of global politics, few issues are as pressing—or as complex—as development and inequality. Economic disparities within and between nations shape everything from governance and conflict to human rights and environmental sustainability. In a world increasingly interconnected by globalization, the gap between the rich and the poor has taken on dramatic proportions. But why does this gap persist? And what can be done to address it? To explore these questions, we’ll use the science fiction film Elysium as a lens. This movie offers a powerful metaphor for the stark inequalities that characterize our world, presenting a dystopian vision where a privileged elite live in luxury on a space station while the rest of humanity struggles to survive on a ravaged Earth. By examining these themes, we can better understand key concepts such as economic inequality, social stratification, and elite capture, and their real-world implications for development and global politics.

Elysium (2013) is set in the year 2154, when Earth has become an overpopulated, polluted wasteland. The wealthiest individuals have escaped this grim reality by relocating to Elysium, a luxurious space station orbiting the planet. On Elysium, residents enjoy clean air, abundant resources, and miraculous medical technology, while those left on Earth endure grinding poverty, illness, and despair. The story follows Max, a former criminal turned factory worker, as he fights to access Elysium’s advanced healthcare to save his own life. Along the way, the film reveals the deep divide between the privileged few and the impoverished masses, serving as a stark allegory for global inequality. Like our world, Elysium portrays a system where the wealthiest not only hoard resources but actively maintain barriers to prevent others from sharing in their prosperity. Check out the first few minutes of the movie below to get a sense of the scale of inequality in this future, fictional Earth.

In every corner of the world, economic inequality shapes the lives of billions, dictating who has access to opportunities and who struggles just to survive. In Elysium, this divide is portrayed in stark, visual terms: Earth’s surface is a sprawling, polluted slum, while the elite orbit the planet in a pristine space station equipped with every imaginable luxury. This cinematic dichotomy mirrors real-world disparities between wealthy nations and impoverished ones, as well as inequalities within societies. Economic inequality, at its core, is the uneven distribution of wealth and resources. Today, the richest 1% of people control nearly half of global wealth, leaving billions to compete for the remaining scraps. Globalization, while lauded for its potential to lift nations out of poverty, has often deepened these divides. Corporations in wealthier countries profit by outsourcing labor to poorer nations, where workers are paid less than a living wage and labor under exploitative conditions. Meanwhile, the profits generated flow upward, enriching executives and shareholders rather than the communities that produce the goods. In Elysium, this exploitation is vividly illustrated by the plight of Max, who works in a dangerous factory producing drones for the elite, highlighting how systems of inequality are sustained by those who benefit from them. The film offers a powerful critique of global systems that perpetuate economic disparities, forcing viewers to consider whether Earth’s present trajectory might lead to such a dystopian future.

Economic inequality often intertwines with social stratification, creating rigid systems where power and privilege are passed down through generations. In Elysium, there is an unbridgeable chasm between the wealthy few living on the space station and the impoverished masses on Earth, a gap so stark that it denies any possibility of upward mobility. This concept parallels real-world structures of social stratification, which organize societies into hierarchies based on wealth, status, and power. Take, for example, the caste system in India or entrenched class divides in the United Kingdom—both of which limit individuals’ opportunities based on their birth. Education plays a pivotal role in these systems, often acting as a gatekeeper to social mobility. Elite universities, with their prohibitively high tuition costs, often remain accessible only to the wealthy, perpetuating cycles of privilege. The film underscores this divide through the medical technology on Elysium, which can cure any illness but is strictly reserved for the wealthy. This exclusionary access symbolizes how real-world stratification often denies the poor basic rights, such as healthcare, while ensuring the continued prosperity of the elite. Through this lens, Elysium pushes audiences to question the fairness of systems that lock millions into poverty while reserving opportunity and advancement for a privileged few.

When the wealthy and powerful dominate resources and decision-making, the rest of society suffers—a phenomenon sociologists and political scientists call elite capture. In Elysium, the entire structure of the space station epitomizes this concept: the rich have hoarded advanced technologies, clean air, and safe living conditions for themselves, while deliberately excluding the majority of humanity from these benefits. This reflects a troubling pattern in real-world global politics, where elite groups monopolize power and resources. For example, multinational corporations often influence environmental policies to prioritize profit over sustainability, as seen in the lobbying efforts of fossil fuel companies to delay climate action. Similarly, in many countries, the political process is dominated by wealthy donors and corporate interests, leaving the needs of ordinary citizens unheard. In the film, the elites on Elysium are not merely passively benefiting from their privilege—they actively defend it by deploying militarized drones and enforcing immigration restrictions to keep Earth’s desperate population out. This mirrors real-world practices, such as border fortifications and the militarization of migration policies in wealthier nations, which often privilege the security of the affluent over the rights and safety of vulnerable migrants. By showing how elite capture can perpetuate global inequality, Elysium invites viewers to consider how such systems of exclusion can be dismantled to create a fairer world.

Ultimately, Elysium is a cautionary tale, one that challenges us to confront the structures of inequality that shape our world. Through its dramatic depictions of economic disparity, entrenched social hierarchies, and elite domination, the film forces us to consider how these systems manifest in real life. While the futuristic setting of Elysium might seem far removed from our present reality, its core themes resonate deeply with the challenges facing global politics today. It reminds us that inequality is not inevitable but rather the result of deliberate human choices—choices that can, and must, be changed to ensure a more equitable future.