Jeffrey Sachs gives lecture at 24th World Congress of Philosophy

Professor Jeffrey Sachs, author of The End of Poverty and Director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University, gave one stunning lecture at the World Congress of Philosophy in Rome, Italy last August 3, 2024. The philosophical conference is being held at Sapienza University with more than 3,000 in attendance from across the globe. Sachs says that there are enough resources in the world to end global poverty. As an economist, he explains that his body of work deals with the technical analysis of economic problems. However, he emphasized that philosophy is crucial today because the solution to our problems must be human and ethical. He also said that most global leaders need a class in philosophy because they are not moral nor responsible. 

Sachs describes the four challenges of the present: climate change, technological advance, wars due to the hegemonic order of geopolitics, and demographics. Governments are not behaving morally and the hegemonic order in the world is causing its doomsday scenario. He also said that the present war in Ukraine is a proxy war between Russia and the US. It is important to look into the ethical aspects of these issues, he says, including an appeal to human rights. In his book The End of Poverty, Sachs says that several gaps or barriers prevent nations from achieving economic progress. His work is called clinical economics, advising global leaders and governments on a host of issues that require state and policy intervention.