Who's Got the Power?

In our increasingly globalized world, cooperation has become more important than ever.  Industrialization widens the gap between first and third world countries on a daily basis, and we are faced with one of today’s biggest questions: how can we decrease and eventually eliminate this gap?  Both Burn and Larkin argue that the problems that industrialization creates must be solved. 

First world countries seeking to further advance and develop embody a self-destructive paradox: they desire to achieve the two noble tasks of both promoting their own advancement for the well-being of their citizens and “raising up” and aiding those countries which are a few to a couple hundred years behind in industrialization.  Burn and Larkin argue that the policies of our generation do not and will not allow both of these ideals to coexist. 

Often the case is that those in power make decisions that attempt to achieve what they believe will be the greater good, i.e. development in some sense.  Although there are some philosophies in existence that argue the need for poverty and social inequality in order for society to function, I believe that most people have inherent compassion and, when truly exposed to a reality arguably worse than their own, they hate to see others struggle and would like to eliminate suffering in others.  Volunteering at my Micah service site can be an exhausting experience because it can allow me, for just a few hours, to take a small share in the pain that others constantly face.  Admittedly, I often feel relieved to return to the familiar setting of campus because it makes it easier for me to slowly forget the pain I witnessed that people living so close to me experience on a daily basis.  Here lies the source of the problem addressed by both Burn and Larkin.  So many people claim to want to see poverty and injustices eradicated but are willing to blink an eye when leaders in power make decisions for societal development or advancement at the direct or indirect cost of the vulnerable.  Burn argues for sustainable development and explains the detrimental effects of deforestation on rural communities, while Larkin depicts the negative consequences of globalization and urbanization on the health of the poor.  Both of these are direct results of industrialization and are approved by the portion of the world population that has the luxury of staying away from their negative effects.   

Global cooperation is vital to resolving these issues in a just and practical manner.  This includes cooperation between races, socioeconomic classes, genders, and nations.  Burn and Larkin emphasize the need for empowerment of women, specifically, and they promote necessary criteria for the solution to global issues of inequality, whatever the solution may be: no human being can be forgotten. 

Articles referenced: “Global Aspects of Health and Health Policy in Third World Countries” by Maureen Larkin; “Women Across Cultures: A Global Perspective” by Shawn Meghan Burn