Global economy must stop serving ultra-rich: UN poverty expert

The global economy needs to be fundamentally reordered to prioritise the needs of ordinary people rather than the “frivolous and destructive demands of the ultra-rich”, a senior United Nations expert has said, arguing that the current growth-driven model is worsening inequality and environmental degradation.

Olivier De Schutter, the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, said governments must move away from what he described as “socially and ecologically destructive growth” that primarily increases the profits and consumption of the world’s wealthiest individuals and corporations.

“The scarce resources we have should be used to prioritise the basic needs of people in poverty and to create what is of societal value rather than serve the frivolous desires of the ultra-rich,” De Schutter said.

He argued that economies allocating resources to luxury consumption rather than essential services are inherently inefficient. “An economy that uses its limited resources to prioritise building large mansions rather than social housing, or powerful cars rather than public transportation systems, is grossly inefficient and will inevitably fail to satisfy the basic needs of people living on low incomes,” he said.

The remarks come ahead of the release in April of De Schutter’s proposed “roadmap for eradicating poverty beyond growth”, which has been developed by an informal “beyond growth coalition” involving UN agencies, academics, civil society organisations and labour unions.

The initiative seeks to expand the policy options available to governments, multilateral institutions and development agencies to combat poverty. Measures under consideration include universal basic income programmes, job guarantees, debt cancellation for developing nations and the introduction of taxes targeting extreme wealth.

De Schutter said the roadmap would coincide with two related international initiatives: one led by UN Secretary-General António Guterres examining alternatives to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as the primary measure of economic success, and another report on global inequality by a panel of G20 experts chaired by Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz.

GDP is widely used to measure economic output but critics argue it fails to capture factors such as inequality, environmental sustainability and social well-being.

According to De Schutter, discussions within international institutions about moving beyond growth have long existed but have often remained politically sensitive. “Many within the UN have been convinced of the imperative of moving beyond growth for years, but their existing mandate does not always allow them to say this politically at the highest level,” he said, adding that a “taboo” still exists around questioning economic growth.

He said the upcoming initiatives could create an opportunity for policymakers to openly debate alternatives ahead of the global development agenda beyond 2030.

“This moment offers us a realistic opportunity to shape the post-2030 agenda with a viable alternative that will reconcile planetary boundaries with social justice and the fight against poverty and inequalities,” he said.

As part of the proposal, De Schutter has also called for the creation of a permanent UN body focused on addressing global inequality. The proposed institution would function similarly to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which provides scientific assessments guiding international climate policy.

The new body would collect evidence on inequality and evaluate policy tools capable of improving living standards while reducing dependence on continuous economic growth, he said.

Drawing on visits to numerous low-income and developing countries since assuming his UN role in 2020, De Schutter said many nations remain trapped in an economic model that prioritises export-led growth driven by global supply chains.

In many cases, he said, countries must expand exports primarily to service foreign debt obligations rather than meet domestic needs, resulting in environmental degradation, low wages and limited economic development.

“We need growth in these countries that is driven by domestic demand rather than by global markets,” he said, adding that regional integration and stronger South-South trade could help reduce dependence on global supply chains dominated by richer economies.

For wealthier countries, De Schutter said stronger public services and social protection systems could be financed by taxing wealth and environmentally harmful economic activities rather than relying on continued expansion of economic output.

“It’s a complex issue, but the key idea is that instead of public revenue being raised by taxing income from labour or economic activity, we should ensure that public revenue is raised by taxing wealth, financial assets, immovable property, financial transactions and destructive industries, especially fossil energy,” he said.

He stressed that proposals to move beyond growth should not be confused with economic recession or stagnation.

“We should avoid the confusion between recession or stagnation and the carefully planned and democratically controlled transition to something else,” De Schutter said.

He added that the upcoming roadmap has already received support from economists, academics, trade unions, non-governmental organisations and several UN bodies.

“If we succeed, we can present a viable alternative that reconciles planetary boundaries with social justice and the fight against poverty and inequalities,” he said, warning that failure to address these issues could fuel further support for far-right political movements globally.