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

8.4: Poverty and Global Inequality 

Poverty and inequality are more than just economic issues—they are global challenges that shape politics, power dynamics, and human development. Poverty deprives billions of access to basic needs like food, healthcare, and education, while inequality reinforces systems of exclusion and exploitation. These issues are not only morally troubling but also destabilizing, contributing to unrest, migration crises, and environmental degradation. Addressing poverty requires understanding its various dimensions and systemic causes, while inequality demands examining how power and resources are distributed both within and between nations. The film Elysium vividly portrays the devastating effects of unchecked inequality, depicting a future where humanity is divided into two extremes: a wealthy elite living on a technologically advanced space station and the rest of humanity struggling for survival on a ravaged Earth. Through the lens of Elysium and key IR concepts like absolute poverty, relative poverty, the resource curse, the Gini coefficient, the cycle of poverty, and social mobility, we can better understand how poverty and inequality are sustained—and how they might be addressed.

Imagine a world where millions of people wake up each day unable to meet even their most basic needs. This is the grim reality of absolute poverty, which affects over 700 million people worldwide. In Elysium, the people left on Earth endure this condition daily, depicted in scenes of crumbling infrastructure, overcrowded slums, and untreated illnesses. Absolute poverty goes beyond financial hardship—it is a fight for survival, as individuals lack access to necessities like food, clean water, shelter, and healthcare. Real-world examples of absolute poverty can be found in sub-Saharan Africa, where decades of conflict, underdevelopment, and environmental crises have left millions vulnerable to famine and disease. In Yemen, for instance, a prolonged war has created one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, with millions facing starvation due to blockades, economic collapse, and lack of international aid. The film’s portrayal of Earth as a polluted, overcrowded wasteland where people die from preventable conditions mirrors these global realities. Addressing absolute poverty requires more than short-term humanitarian aid; it demands systemic investment in infrastructure, healthcare, and governance. Yet even in societies where basic needs are met, poverty can persist in less visible but equally harmful ways, as seen in the concept of relative poverty.

Even in societies where people have enough to survive, inequality can still trap individuals in cycles of exclusion and frustration. In Elysium, the stark contrast between Earth’s impoverished masses and the luxury of Elysium’s space station illustrates relative poverty—the sense of deprivation that arises when people compare their circumstances to the wealth and privileges of others. Relative poverty is not about lacking food or shelter but about being excluded from the opportunities and resources necessary to fully participate in society. For example, in the United States, a family might have housing and basic necessities but still struggle to afford higher education, quality healthcare, or opportunities for upward mobility. The frustration of relative poverty is often magnified in societies with growing wealth gaps, as seen in the “Yellow Vests” protests in France, where citizens protested rising inequality and the erosion of middle-class security. Elysium dramatizes these tensions, showing Earth’s residents yearning for access to Elysium’s advanced healthcare and technological abundance but being denied by systemic barriers. Such inequality often stems from how societies manage and distribute their natural resources, leading to phenomena like the resource curse.

Counterintuitively, nations rich in natural resources often face some of the worst developmental outcomes—a paradox known as the resource curse. Countries like Nigeria, Venezuela, and the Democratic Republic of Congo possess vast reserves of oil, minerals, or precious metals, yet many of their citizens remain trapped in poverty. Rather than serving as a catalyst for broad-based development, resource wealth frequently leads to economic overreliance on a single export, such as crude oil or cobalt, which leaves national economies vulnerable to price shocks and external market fluctuations. When global commodity prices fall, these states often experience sudden fiscal crises, exposing their lack of diversification and long-term planning. This economic fragility is compounded by corruption, weak governance, and elite capture, where resource revenues are siphoned off by a small ruling class rather than invested in public goods like education, infrastructure, or healthcare. In Nigeria, for example, oil exports generate billions in revenue, yet chronic underinvestment in human development and rampant pollution in the Niger Delta have left much of the population in poverty—despite the country’s immense natural wealth.

The resource curse also makes countries more susceptible to foreign exploitation and neocolonial dynamics, where more powerful states or multinational corporations extract resources while leaving behind environmental degradation and social unrest. This pattern reflects broader dependency theory, a development framework explored earlier in this chapter, which argues that wealthier “core” countries extract value from resource-rich but politically weaker “peripheral” nations, perpetuating global inequality. Meanwhile, the World Systems Theory helps us understand how resource-exporting countries often remain stuck in a subordinate position in the global economic hierarchy, supplying raw materials while importing finished goods at higher prices. Internally, the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few, while the majority struggle with poverty, results in extreme inequality—a condition measurable through tools like the Gini coefficient, which captures how unevenly income or wealth is distributed within a society. Thus, far from guaranteeing prosperity, resource abundance can entrench underdevelopment, reinforce dependency, and destabilize societies, unless managed with transparent institutions, economic diversification, and inclusive growth strategies.

How unequal is a society? The Gini coefficient provides a way to measure this by analyzing how wealth or income is distributed within a country. In Elysium, the gap between the space station’s elite and Earth’s population represents extreme inequality—what would correspond to a Gini coefficient approaching 1. In real-world terms, South Africa has one of the highest Gini coefficients globally, a legacy of apartheid that continues to divide the nation’s wealthy urban centers from its impoverished informal settlements. On the other hand, nations like Denmark and Norway boast some of the lowest Gini coefficients, thanks to robust social safety nets, progressive taxation, and universal public services. High levels of inequality, as depicted in Elysium, are not just morally troubling; they can also undermine social cohesion and stability. When wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few, entire generations can be locked into cycles of deprivation and exclusion, unable to access the opportunities needed to improve their lives. This systemic entrenchment of poverty connects to the concept of the cycle of poverty, which explains how disadvantage persists over time.

For many, escaping poverty is not just difficult—it’s systematically obstructed by barriers that trap individuals and families in a cycle of poverty across generations. In Elysium, this cycle is vividly illustrated through the character of Max Da Costa, who, like countless others on Earth, is denied access to quality education, healthcare, and stable employment. In a desperate effort to keep his factory job, Max is forced to enter a hazardous area, ultimately being exposed to a fatal dose of radiation—an act that underscores how people living in poverty often face impossible choices that those in more privileged positions never have to consider. This mirrors real-world conditions where, for instance, children in rural India leave school to help support their families, sacrificing their futures for short-term survival, or where low-income communities in the U.S. struggle with underfunded schools and limited access to essential services. These conditions not only deprive individuals of opportunity but perpetuate inequality across generations. The factory where Max works produces technology for the elite in Elysium, yet he and others on Earth are wholly excluded from its benefits—a striking metaphor for the global economic system, where marginalized populations often power production without sharing in its rewards. Breaking this cycle of poverty requires more than personal determination; it calls for comprehensive, systemic investments in education, healthcare, housing, and job creation to ensure that people are not forced to choose between safety and survival, and that every individual has a genuine chance to build a better life. Check out this clip to see the unfortunate incident where Max is exposed to fatal radiation at work.

In societies marked by deep inequality, the dream of rising through hard work and determination often becomes an illusion. In Elysium, this reality is embodied by the character Max Da Costa, whose life on a decaying, overpopulated Earth is defined by systemic barriers that render upward mobility virtually impossible. Despite his efforts to play by the rules—holding a factory job and trying to stay out of trouble—Max is exposed to dangerous working conditions, exploited by uncaring employers, and ultimately discarded when he is injured, with no safety net or path to recovery. His desperation to reach the orbital utopia of Elysium isn’t just a personal quest—it’s a last-ditch effort to escape a system where advancement is deliberately out of reach. This mirrors real-world struggles in highly unequal societies such as Brazil, where wealth and privilege are often inherited, and millions are confined to favelas with limited access to quality education, stable employment, or healthcare. In such environments, hard work alone is rarely enough to break the cycle of poverty, as the social and economic systems are stacked against the majority.

By contrast, countries like Canada, Finland, and Norway demonstrate how strong public institutions and universal social policies—including free education, universal healthcare, and affordable childcare—can foster genuine social mobility. When people are empowered to move upward based on merit and effort rather than birth or connections, inequality tends to decline, and economic development becomes more inclusive. Max’s journey, while fictional and set in a dystopian future, serves as a powerful metaphor for what happens when systems are designed to hoard opportunity rather than share it. His struggle underscores the social consequences of denying mobility: growing frustration, alienation, and eventually rebellion, as those left behind demand a fairer system. Addressing inequality, then, requires more than just redistributing wealth—it demands building pathways that allow everyone, regardless of background, to thrive and move forward. Watch the video below to see the lengths those in poverty will go to try and achieve the same benefits as those who are rich.

By examining absolute and relative poverty, the resource curse, the Gini coefficient, the cycle of poverty, and social mobility, we can see that poverty and inequality are deeply interconnected and systemic. Elysium serves as a powerful allegory for these issues, showing the devastating effects of unchecked inequality and systemic exclusion. Tackling these challenges requires systemic reforms that go beyond immediate aid, addressing the structural factors that perpetuate inequality and limit opportunity. As global citizens, understanding these dynamics is the first step toward creating a fairer and more equitable world.