An upside down notion of inequality

David Miliband, Britain’s recently appointed foreign minister, is clearly bringing his previous preoccupations as environment minister to his new department. Last week he gave a speech to the United Nations General Assembly on inequality and insecurity. In it he argued – correctly – that poorer countries will suffer more as a result of climate change. But his approach of curbing consumption growth will not solve the problem. On the contrary, the only viable solution is to make poor countries far richer.

He also, like Jeffrey Sachs and others, links inequality to insecurity. In other words the approach is to try to defuse resentment rather than remove real inequalities by promoting development.

It is an upside down world he lives in.