The Current Discussion: In the future, global prosperity will present more of a threat than poverty, according to a recent Post op-ed. Is this just rich-American rhetoric, or is the world really getting too prosperous for its own good?
There is a huge difference between people living above the poverty line and people being wasteful consumers. To argue that China and India’s prosperity will harm those countries and the larger environment is only partially true. Indeed, the environmental concerns of progress apply to all, whether it be America, China, India or any other nation. The failure of countries like the United States to accept and adopt an environmental protocol that actually works is deplorable. In equal measure, India and China's lack of respect for the environment also places them in the same shelf as the Americans.
The problem becomes complex when we relate progress with the human condition. Indeed, freedom from want is a basic human right and nations should have responsible growth models to achieve this, especially in the areas of food, health and shelter. Sadly, we have become a global economy that wastes more than it needs to and spends more on making weapons than providing health. On top of population growth, we have made matters worse with our wars and conflicts.
Before we talk of prosperity to the point of wanton consumerism, we first need to talk of fissures that our political and economic management models have created in society. Ponder this thought: by the time you read this sentence, one human being lost his life somewhere in the world for lack of medical care, or lack of food, or from a violent act perpetuated by man. In the one minute it takes you to read this piece, US$ 1 million will have been spent by the U.S. Pentagon on its armed forces. This is where we need to consider responsible models of economic and political leadership, which tragically do not exist. As developing countries develop they need to be balanced in their approach, not mimic mad models of consumption; by the same measure, developed societies need to understand what they are doing with their resources. There is no doubt that the human footprint will soon far exceed the resource footprint needed to support it, hence water and grain shortages. However, a society that insists on spending more on war than on health and education cannot be considered sensible. Countries like India, Pakistan, and Israel have to answer why they develop expensive weapons systems and nuclear weapons when their populations face enormous risk of economic hardship. (I mention Israel keeping it mind it also has a responsibility towards its Arab citizens). I have always argued that the act of having nuclear weapons is blasphemy, as you cannot say you love God in the same instant that you create a weapon that can destroy in one afternoon everything that God has created.
This is not just about America and the rest and their models of economic progress. It is about the collective condition of mankind. To bring about change it is imperative that all must do something - now.
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