Let’s attempt to do this. Inequality within countries has been rising. Moreover, inequality among nations has been rising. Therefore, must we not conclude that inequality has been rising on a population basis? NO! If we take a look at population weighted statistics on poverty and wages, inequality has in fact been decreasing on an individual basis. Because countries such as India and China have witnessed such immense amounts of growth in the last several years, and moreover, since they contain almost 1/3 of the world population, wages have in fact been rising. Inequality on a population basis increased dramatically from the early 19th century into the mid 20th century. However, since about 1950/1960 (can’t remember the exact date), inequality has been decreasing in the world.

Thus, what may we conclude from this? 1. Low-skilled workers in highly developed nations are becoming poorer, and 2. Inequality in the world is decreasing on an individual basis. We should not keep stating that it is these 3rd world nations that are aren’t able to lift themselves up from the yoke of Western imperialism. No doubt, these countries have a far way to go before we may even consider them developed nations, but it is manifestly wrong to conclude that Marx’s teleological economic schema can apply to the poor today.

For sources, look to the following:
1. “How did the world’s poorest fare in the 1990s?” by Shaohua Chen and Martin Ravallion
2. Sala-i-Martin (2004)
3. “U.S. Trade with Developing Countries and Wage Inequality” in American Economic Review