3.
The Gap Between Rich and Poor
by Larkyn Rhea
As Christmas time approaches, many Americans start to get excited about returning home to all of the familiar festivities. They imagine the smell of the Christmas tree mixed with the aroma of apple cider or think about all of the Christmas specials on television that they will watch. They can not wait to relax in front of the fireplace with their families and to open all of the Christmas gifts piled under the tree.
On the other hand, more than half of the rest of the world will not be having the kind of holiday with presents, fireplaces, and television specials that most Americans are used to. In fact, the money U.S. parents spend on Christmas presents alone this year will probably be more than the annual income of over half the worlds population. It is heartbreaking.
Our world is essentially divided into two sections: rich and poor.
Unfortunately , the majority of people are poor. Each society has certain
attributes that are part of its culture. Richer countries are literate,
industrial, overweight, overfed, and comfortable. Poorer societies are
illiterate, under-developed, hungry, malnourished, and struggling to merely
survive.
There is a very large and uneven gap between the rich and the poor. This gap is a very real thing. Poverty is a reality that exists for most and effects them every single, waking day of their lives. It is a reality in which children die because their parents could not afford penicillin. People live in small, one-room shacks in groups, of ten with no running water and little food. A bathroom for them is a large hole in the ground. Poverty is a real struggle that’s purpose is to merely survive.
This type of poverty did not always exist. Before the Industrial Revolution, everyone had to survive and hold their own. Poverty was not anything near what it has become today. After the Revolution, the gap between the rich and poor was a ratio of 2:1. This was the year 1850. In just 100 years, the ratio jumped to 10:1. Then, just ten years later, the gap leaped to an unbelievable 15:1 for the year 1960. It is projected that the gap will sky rocket to 30:1 in just four years for the year 2000. This type of gap is enormous and inexcusable. It will eventually take its toll on the entire world.
People have created many theories to try to explain the huge difference between the first and third world. Some blamed it on climate. Maybe, they figured, third world climate was not adequate enough to support growth and industrialization. Seeing how interdependent the world truly is and how much does in fact come from the South, this theory cannot hold any truth. Some say the reason for the gap is religion. Perhaps, they assume, the western states contain the "chosen" people. They might concur that the lack of belief in the Christian God, or some variation thereof, has caused the suffering. This theory also appears less than probable.
Others believe in the natural resource theory. This theory suggests that countries with adequate resources should only flourish. Again, inter-dependency proves this particular claim very unlikely. Some also believe that the gap between rich and poor occurred due to child raising techniques. This claim suggests that families in the third world were inadequate in providing their children proper values and morals and "know-how" to become a developed country. Perhaps this theory is the most ridiculous of all.
The most accepted theory and the most rational one, perhaps, is the colonialism theory. This theory suggests that the Industrial Revolution took place in the North, providing a situation in which Europe could oppress, take advantage of, and exploit the South. If follows, unfortunately, that the poverty existing all around the world is the result of pure greed. Western ancestors, leaders, and current governments have been instrumental in the oppression of the third world states and that makes a portion of this awful continuos problem part of Western responsibility and that of European and American citizens.
As third world countries achieved their independence, they found themselves very poor in an international system that continues to keep open the gap and to discriminate against poorer countries. Even when these third world states attempt to rise up and make developments that begin to close the gap, the international system keeps them down and takes advantage of them.
For example, a family in a Third World country may start a small cola business charging 20 cents a can while earning 10 cents profit. Then, the Coca Cola company might come into the country and sell their ever-popular product for only 10 cents a can, making no profit. This can be easily afforded by Coca Cola. Eventually, the small business will close down as it must profit to survive. Now, Coke can monopolize the market and eventually raise their prices to make a profit. It is this type of politics that keep the poor countries poor.
It is frustrating to learn about such cruel business strategy. People in the North would like this all not to be true. After all, Coke is an all-time favorite drink, and the American system of capitalism is adored. What about the foreign aid that the U.S. government gives out? Who does it go to help? The truth is that even foreign aid is unfair and discriminatory. The money given through foreign aid goes to countries that do not necessarily need it as much. For example, the number one recipient of foreign aid from the United States is Israel- a country less needy than other states like Bangladesh or Haiti. Essentially, foreign aid has become "foreign relations". It is given to countries that are allies. The money is used more as a tool of good policy than as a donation to the needy. Perhaps a better plan, as suggested in the NIEO, would be to put all foreign aid into one international fund to which countries could apply for aid.
Another way that the western countries continue to keep the poor poor is through the United Nations itself. Although the UN consists of 185 members that can vote on issues raised, it still has the original 5 members that have the power to veto anything passed. The original 5 represent the west and continue to drive down and hinder development of the other world.
Perhaps the greatest force of oppression of the third world states is that the industrialized states and their multinational corporations control some 80% of the global economy. Other world states lack the capital, industrial capacity, technology, and infrastructure to compete with the industrialized countries, which have been honing their economic might for over a century.
All in all, the problems in the other world in terms of oppression are too great to fathom. It is sick that a minority of the population can cause such agony and deprivation to their own human kind. One of the biggest problems in resolving the problem is that most Americans are completely naive and oblivious to this great oppression that merely continues to get stronger.
This year, when all of the Christmas festivities start, maybe some will be a little more humble and remember the part of Christmas called giving. Help has to start somewhere. Individuals can do a tiny bit for maybe one family this Christmas. God willing, the spirit will spread, and the other world might some day find a glimmer of hope.
