One of the consequences of capitalist inequality is that a few wealthy individuals get to decide how the surplus will be spent.
Take the case of Bill Gates, who has decided to spend $1.3 billion to eradicate polio. But. according to scientists, polio is not high on the list of causes of death around the world, not even in the developing world.
“Fighting polio has always had an emotional factor — the children in braces, the March of Dimes posters,” Dr. Henderson said. “But it doesn’t kill as many as measles. It’s not in the top 20.
Here, according to the World Health Organization, are the leading causes of death in high-income, middle-income, and low-income countries:
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