January 11th, 2010
I believe that most people, given the option, would prefer to have a world without poverty, war and environmental degradation. In fact, I suspect that the percentage of such people who would choose such a world over the one we have now, all other things being equal, is about 98%.
So, why don’t we have such a world?
The technology and resources are there. We have a bit over 6 billion people on this planet, and there’s no reason why a home can’t be built for every single one of them. The planet is easily capable of providing enough food for all of them. 3/4ths of the world’s surface is water, and we have the technology to remove the salt from it.
We could have a world of plenty, a global garden of Eden for every human family member to revel in, and we could have it within a year, maybe two. So, why don’t we?
Well, one reason is that most people don’t really think it’s possible. They are resigned to the idea that that’s just the way it is, some people were born to be poor, there is always going to be conflict, there aren’t enough resources to go around. They would choose such a world, they just don’t believe it’s an actual choice.
A bigger problem, though, is that small percentage who actually would not want a world like that. They prefer a world of poverty, war and environmental degradation because it’s one in which they have wealth and power. The world doesn’t look so bad when you are eating lobster at an outdoor restaurant overlooking the marina where your yacht is moored. Wars are things they read about in the newspapers, and on which they make money. The environment just gets in the way.
So, how does this 2% keep control over the 98% of the world who would like a better existence? Ruthlessness.
They may be only a small percentage of the population, but they are the bosses of the corporations, they are the heads of government and the leaders of political parties, they are the publishers of newpapers and the heads of studios, they are the ones who call the shots. The same personality characteristic which got them to where they are is the same personality characteristic which pretty much guarantees that they will piss down the neck of anybody below them.
I am optimistic that some day our superior numbers will overwhelm them and a world of peace, harmony, prosperity, wine and music will grow up from the grassroots, and all of the bad stuff will just fade away. I hope that that someday will be within my lifetime.
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