Wealth and Poverty
by Jonathan Brun
The problems that face the average Canadian, American, French or any western citizen are rarely life threatening or of great proportions. Long ago are the days when people were genuinely worried about their security, food, or their shelter being taken from them. There remains tremendous poverty in the western world, children who go to school hungry and face aggression and violence in their neighborhoods, homes and schools. While we cannot forget the less fortunate, we must cherish what we have built. By and large, we have developed as a society to such a point, that the thought of being drafted for war, waiting in bread lines or being sent to prison is a thought only entertained at the movies.
Society is approaching a point where nearly everyone was born in a post-WWII world. And while there have been wars since, non have demanded the sacrifices that were needed to defeat fascism. My generation’s main concerns are the cars they will own, jeans they will wear and the size of their homes. Complaints are so disproportionate with the situation it is difficult to comprehend. The past fifty years have been the best in human history. Never has such a period of decadence and stability been accessible to such a large percentage of the population.
We need to remind ourselves of this truth everyday. When we forget the lack of historical precedence, we lower ourselves to the level of materialism, superficiality and irrelevance. I do not propose that we give up our nice, safe cars, cottage homes or all-inclusive trips to Tijuana; only, that we understand that in our daily lives we are rarely in a situation that is either serious or worth fighting over. Of course we still get cancer, perish in accidents, lose family, go bankrupt and face serious issues; but on a general level, our society has a stability and level of wealth never before seen in the history on mankind.
We must cherish the family we have, the friends we know and avoid confrontation over who gets the front seat, the best table at the club, or the new toy. We, as a society, need to stop complaining about the small problems we may have and start solving the big ones. I will never propose complacency and I will be the first to tell you that our current consumption level and lifestyle is not sustainable.
It is therefore our responsibility to future generations to solve our real problems; degradation of the environment, human rights, and most importantly, education. We have the technology and the manpower to accomplish great things if only we did not spend the time we do dwelling on consumption, the noise of your next-door neighbor, the friend who said something stupid. Education on matters such as environment, homelessness, domestic violence, and other social issues should have a place along our children’s English, Math and History classes. It is not enough to teach the past, we must inform them of the necessary steps to conquer our future.
Developing countries such as China and India will never see the level of wealth that we enjoy in Canada. The simple mathematics of resources dictates that we cannot all have cottages, two cars, and unlimited drinking water. However, with proper technology and better social education, these western privileges will be accessible to many people. What I hope to confer from this brief piece is that we must take everything with a grain of salt. When you get upset of a friend’s intonation or language, a bad driver, or a impolite bank teller; take a breath and think not of a child starving in Africa, but rather of the security and wealth that our western society has. In our world, our problems are not of the most dangerous nature and in many cases, it is all just a game.
Comments
You don’t have to travel far out of Beijing to find poverty–only the wealthy are on the east coast. I’m reading a book about Vietnam right now and it sounds like even the residents of large cities are in poverty.
I disagree with you, though, about how to solve the world’s problems. The problems in China and India are created by their governments and not by Westerners or the people living there. Societies thrive through commerce–providing something of value and getting something of value in return. It’s the government’s responsibility to provide a legal framework for investment to occur (can you tell I’m more of an economist?).
As you mentioned in another post, the Chinese girl was ‘interested in the size of your apartment’. She’s offering her companionship and loyalty in return for a brighter future for her own family (perhaps including your children). Our Western sensibilities are offended by such behavior, but if you think about it we all make those same decisions…the Chinese just don’t have any sublety when it comes to money/income. It’s one of those cultural differences that you’ll have to accept if you are going to date while you’re there.
Nice thoughts in your brief and an insightful perspective by Michael.
From what you have mentioned about poverty, I could just add a perspective…about India. As Michael rightly pointed out, you cannot compartmentalize poverty into villages and cities. It is interspersed and has become part of their lives for generations. From my point of view, it is not poverty which needs to be eradicated, but information which needs to be percolated.
There are thousands of Indians today who continue to live in huts and villages. However their Information levels have grown much more than what it was, say, 5 years before. You would find many people who would rather invest in some Rural Banks for getting interest than invest in assets like Flats or vehicles. Simple and smart awareness, I guess!
Micheal,
You are absolutly right that commerce is at the root of our recent success (and that of China’s). The main problem with this, and which can be readily observed in Beijing, is the excessive waste that consumption produces. Unless we adress the inneficcient cycle of consumption and production, the social model based on increased commerce will falter. I we must put sustainability at the forefront of our minds.
This must be done with economics in mind. Interestingly, more and more pure economists with no history of environmentalism have come out to support sustainability. Even from an economic point of view it is logical, it is cheaper to manufacture things that can be upgraded and re-used than to simply replace them. The increasing prices of raw materials will inevitable push us in that direction.
I plan to add some more entries to the blog after I finish my current schooling at McGill.