12. Towards a better world
Contents
12.1 The world can be improved
We see a relatively small section of the world during our daily lives. We eat, drink, move and consume goods and services in places that are familiar to us. In the middle of this daily life, it can be difficult to think about what life is like in different parts of the world and how our lives are determined by the things we do and use from day to day.
Europeans belong to the quarter of the world's population that owns three quarters of the planet's total wealth. Most of the people on the planet are significantly more poor than we are. The poorest quarter of the planet's population owns only two percent of its total wealth. Therefore, the things that we see as our standard quality of living is actually far above the norm when thinking about the question on a global scale.
The quality of life on planet Earth.
The products we consume contain many problems, most of which are invisible to us. They can be produced in conditions that are detrimental to the environment and to the health of the workers who make them. The workers who produce our goods can be underpaid, and their jobs can even make them suffer slavery-like conditions. Child labor is also used in some parts of the world. The ecological baggage of our goods can be heavy, which means that their production has used up large amounts of natural resources and energy. Even the food we eat can come at a great cost to the environment — especially if it is mostly animal-based and produced far away from us.
The world will not become a better place if we do not change it ourselves. That is why each of us needs to understand what the world is like and how our actions affect it. Even when political decision-making is slow and inefficient, we can still have an effect as responsible consumers.
Do we know where the goods we consume come from?
12.2 Wealth is distributed unevenly
Every one of us has been born. However, where in the world this birth has occurred is not at all insignificant. In some parts of the world, a newborn infant is born into a place where they can have access to high-quality health care, good education, a varied and plentiful diet and an enjoyable, safe environment to live in.
However, in other parts of the world, the chance that a newborn infant reaches the age of one is just under 80 %. In these areas, the risk of contracting a serious illness is high and daily life is characterized by the struggle to procure food and clean water.
People living in a waste dump in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Nations are often divided into developed and undeveloped nations. In developed nations, the infant mortality rate is low, almost all citizens can read and write, health care is of a high quality and different systems of social welfare aid people in times of illness and old age. In undeveloped nations, the situation is completely the opposite. In addition to weak nutrition, health care and education, the populations of undeveloped nations are often also tormented by inequality and conflicts.
However, the division between developed and undeveloped nations does not describe the distribution of the planet's levels of development and wealth completely accurately. In some previously undeveloped nations, some of the problems listed above have begun to improve. As a result, these nations can be considered developing nations. On the other hand, the wealth of developed nations has begun to be distributed more unevenly, which can be seen as an increase in poverty. Therefore, the classification has grown more complex. Despite this, nations can still be classified in terms of their levels of income, and the differences between different nations continue to be significant.
| Nation | Gross domestic product per capita |
|---|---|
| Qatar | 130 000 US dollars per capita |
| United States | 56 000 $ |
| Sweden | 48 000 $ |
| Finland | 41 000 $ |
| Ethiopia (Africa) | 1 800 $ |
| Burundi (Africa) | 830 $ |
The level of a nation's development can be studied with different kinds of metrics. Gross domestic product (GDP) is a metric that displays the market value of all goods and services produced in a nation during a specific time period. When divided by the nation's population, the resulting metric, GDP per capita, is a useful tool in measuring the average levels of income in different nations. GDP tells us the total value of a nation's production, but does not say anything about how the resulting wealth is distributed between its people.
The level of development of a nation's health care system can be studied by looking at its infant mortality (dead children under the age of one year) and childhood mortality (dead children under the age of five years) rates. Similarly, the level of a nation's education system can be observed by studying its population's literacy rate.
Different metrics can be combined to create more comprehensive metrics. For example, the Human Development Index (HDI) is a number that takes all of the metrics mentioned above into account.
What are the differences between nations caused by? Some differences can be explained by the difficult natural conditions in some nations, where things such as droughts and rainless seasons make human life more difficult. Long and violent conflicts have prohibited the development of some nations. There are also nations where autocratic and corrupt governments keep up a division between the rich elite and a poor majority. However, one of the most central common explanation to the low levels of development in certain nations is their history as European colonies. Western nations used these colonies as sources of raw materials for themselves. A similar economic structure, which is based on the export of cheap raw materials, can be seen in many developing nations to this day. As a result of their colonial history, the levels of income in these nations have remained low. This has been further worsened by the nations incurring more and more debt.
| Nation | GDP per capita (USD) | HDI (Human Development Index, 0-1) | GINI (0–100, a large number signifies a high level of income disparity) |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 56 000 | 0,91 | 47 |
| Finland | 41 000 | 0,88 | 27 |
| Zimbabwe | 600 | 0,37 | 50 |
12.3 How to make the world a better place?
When following the news and seeing all the inequality and problems that the world faces, it is easy to think that nothing can be done to improve the world. However, things are not actually quite as bad as the news make them out to be. This is due to the fact that news tend to focus on negative things and events, whereas positive things are often not as interesting to read about. In fact, most of the things on the planet are better than they were before. For example, infant and childhood mortality rates have steadily decreased all over the world, and dangerous diseases can be prevented better than ever. In additon, the amount of people living in absolute poverty has halved after the year 1990.
| Year | Percentage of Earth's population living in absolute poverty |
|---|---|
| 1980 | 43 % (Absolute poverty = a daily income of less than two euros) |
| 1990 | 35 % |
| 2000 | 27 % |
| 2010 | 13 % |
| 2016 | 10 % |
The rate of illiterate people is steadily decreasing as the number of people with a basic education increases. Agricultural production has also become more efficient. The amount of food produced on Earth should be able to feed all of the planet's population, if only the problem of food waste can be solved.
However, many things still need to be fixed. Climate change is progressing rapidly, rainforests are growing smaller and plastic waste is accumulating in the oceans. Human rights are overlooked, many people lack a sufficient level of income and people in many areas live under a constant threat of violence. It is our duty as the citizens of the planet to solve these problems and to make the world a better place.
The world will become better when everyone learns to understand, care and do the right thing. The following choices can help the world change for the better:
- Consume responsibly, repair and recycle.
- Favor bicycles and public transport.
- Choose a renewable source of electricity for your home.
- Eat local foods and vegetables.
- Choose Fair Trade products that guarantee a reasonable level of income to the producers.
- Choose goods and services that are the best choice for human rights and the environment.
- Reduce the use of plastic.
- Trust the circular economy, where the effective use and recycling of materials lowers the need for new materials and waste.
- Think about where the goods you consume come from.
- Vote for candidates that understand the state of the world and know their responsibility.
Summary
- There are drastic differences between the levels of development of nations.
- The least developed countries are characterized by a high infant mortality rate, a low level of education, as well as weak health care and welfare systems.
- The production of consumer goods often contains environmental and human rights problems.
- Many problems, such as climate change, are quickly worsening. However, some problems have become less grave: infant mortality and poverty have decreased, and literacy and education are improving all around the world.
- You can help to make the world a better place by making responsible and informed choices.
- Key words: undeveloped nations, developing nations, developed nations, Gross Domestic Product, Human Development Index, infant mortality, elocogical baggage.