Economics · Book club
The Divide book club questions
Here are 12 book club questions for The Divide by Jason Hickel, ordered to open easily and end somewhere worth arguing about. Copy them, print them, or bring them up one at a time.
The Divide is Jason Hickel's argument that global poverty is not a natural condition that development has failed to fully remedy, but a product of policies — colonial extraction, debt regimes, trade rules, and structural adjustment — that wealthy countries have imposed on poor ones.
Jason Hickel · 2017 · 6h 45m
Full summary and key takeaways →The 12 questions
- 1.
Hickel argues that the divide between rich and poor countries was created by colonialism and sustained by current economic arrangements. Do you find that framing persuasive? What evidence would change your view?
- 2.
The book challenges the optimistic poverty statistics cited by Pinker and Gates. How do you evaluate competing empirical claims when the underlying data can be measured in multiple ways?
- 3.
If more money flows from poor countries to rich ones than the reverse, what does that imply about the relationship between aid and global justice?
- 4.
Hickel argues structural adjustment programs worsened conditions in countries that received them. How do you evaluate that claim given that many of those programs were presented as necessary medicine?
- 5.
China and India grew rapidly by violating Washington Consensus orthodoxy. What does that tell us about the conditions under which liberal economic policy prescriptions are effective?
- 6.
The book proposes changes to debt, trade, and tax rules as more important than aid. How politically realistic are those changes, and who would need to support them?
- 7.
Hickel writes from a clear political perspective. Does that strengthen or weaken his argument? How should readers calibrate for explicit advocacy?
- 8.
How does the history Hickel presents in the first half of the book change how you think about international development assistance?
- 9.
The book challenges the idea that the existing global economic order is generally producing progress. What evidence from your own experience or observation bears on that question?
- 10.
If Hickel's analysis is correct, what follows for the obligations of people in wealthy countries?
- 11.
What aspects of Hickel's argument do you find most compelling, and which seem most overstated or underdeveloped?
- 12.
How do you think about the relationship between domestic inequality within countries and global inequality between countries?
How to run the discussion
- Pick six to eight, not all of them. An hour of real discussion covers fewer questions than anyone expects, and racing the list is what makes a book club feel like homework.
- Open with what people noticed, not what they concluded. Asking for a verdict first hardens opinions before anyone has heard each other.
- Let the disagreement run. The questions below that split a room are the ones worth the time; the ones everyone answers the same way can be skipped.
- Ask the quiet person a specific question. A direct, narrow question is far easier to answer than an open invitation to contribute.
Themes worth steering toward
If the conversation stalls, these are the threads that usually restart it.
Common questions
What are good book club questions for The Divide?
Here are 12 book club questions for The Divide by Jason Hickel, ordered to open easily and end somewhere worth arguing about. The strongest openers ask what each reader noticed rather than what they concluded, and the discussion usually turns on global inequality, development, colonialism.
How long should a book club discussion of The Divide last?
Most groups run 60 to 90 minutes of actual discussion. That is roughly six to eight questions, not all of them, so pick the ones that suit your group rather than working down the list in order.
What are the main themes in The Divide?
Global inequality, Development, Colonialism, Economic policy, Poverty. Those are the threads most likely to divide a room, which makes them the useful places to steer a discussion that has gone quiet.
Picking the next one? See books like The Divide or questions for other book club picks.
