Original version

BBC World Service Online

The Forum

Documentaries

Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media

The programme that explains the present by exploring the past

The programme that explains the present by exploring the past.

The Forum: Sharing Prosperity and Power

Discussion & Talk

Beggar asking for alms at Keesaragutta Temple in Hyderabad. (Photo by Noah Seelam/AFP/Getty Images)

10/08/2013 GMT

Sharing Prosperity and Power

BBC World Service - The Forum, Sharing Prosperity and Power

All about sharing - wealth, power, responsibility and ideas

Which country has done better at sharing wealth and meeting the needs of those trapped in poverty? And, is democracy allowing people to share real power?

This week we look at sharing – wealth, power, responsibility and of course, ideas. When it comes to the world’s new economic giants, which country has done better at meeting the needs of those trapped in poverty? Are there universal principles or does each country have to find its own path? And what’s the role of democracy? Joining Bridget Kendall to discuss these huge issues are:

Nobel Prize-winning economist and philosopher Amartya Sen, who asks why the elite in his native India are happy to benefit from the country’s economic growth, but ignore the devastating poverty and inequality right under their noses. 

Professor of Global Economics, Yasheng Huang, who believes his native China is heading for a major financial crisis unless the government begins to share more of its GDP (Gross Domestic Product) with ordinary Chinese households. 

Middle Eastern politics professor Salwa Ismail, who says that recent protests in Egypt, Turkey and Brazil show that many people around the world now feel electoral democracy is simply not allowing them to share real power.

(Photo: Woman with child holding out a begging bowl. Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

Accessibility links

Programme Index

The Forum

Sharing Prosperity and Power

Genres

Formats

Brand

BBC World Service Online

About BBC World Service