Global Inequality

We should care about global inequality because it affects everyone. It affects the rich, the poor, and the middle class. It affects every country, and every citizen. To not care would mean to take away our humanity. The text and podcasts talk about what global inequality does to us, and they stress important factors, but we also have to remember that what makes us human, is our ability to care for others, and to help others when they are down.

When we have global inequality the rich just seem to get richer, and the poor just seem to get poorer. The rich exploit the poor, and use them for their own gain. Treating them as if they are not human, paying them bare minimum, and becoming greedier in the process.

Global inequality is unjust for the poor. They fight daily just to eat, and provide shelter for their families. They do not have enough money for food, clothing, and health care. This often leads to involvement in criminal activities, just so they can afford food. They might become involved in extremes, such as, drug trafficking, human trafficking, or unfair child labor.

The inequality can lead to uprisings, and violence, as those who are struggling are angry. It has also been known for those that are rich, to use their power to take over governments, and ruin a country in the process. Adolf Hitler comes to mind.

I also think global inequality could contribute to substandard products being imported, and affecting our country. I remember the problems recently with many toys coming from China being found to contain lead. I know China is thought to be a powerhouse, and I understand we even have a debt to them, but on the map in the text it shows that they are a lower middle class country. I assume most of their citizen’s struggle, and only the powerful have wealth. This is why so many businesses outsource their work to China and India. They can get cheap labor, and cheap materials. So global inequality causes a person in China to work for a few dollars a day, but someone in American to make twice as much. In turn, we loose jobs in America, in favor of cheaper labor in another country, and that country is exploited, just for a few dollars to buy food.

There are many statistics that tell us why we should care about global inequality, but I think we also have to realize that to not care is to stop being human. We need to rescue the children in sweatshops in India, we need to stop the trafficking of women and young girls from Russia, and we need to make things more equal so we can all know our world is a better place.

Instead of dividing people into classes, (rich, poor, middle class) why not help each other out to make the world more peaceful. This might be one answer to end most wars.