Why is the world this way?

Question

2% of the world owns 98% of the worlds "money". If you lo0k at it that means that 1% of there "money" could feed all the people of the world ten times over. Every breath I take somone dies of starvation. I dont understand this.

Well doug that makes me think screw all these fake people running for president. That is a real issue, it is thee issue, I dont see anything else more important in this world. If they cant even bring it up, then what the hell is the point of this so called democracy for the people by the people. I think there is no exposure to this, because of WHO runs the media. In the next ten years perhaps are TVs will be connected to the interenet and instead of making there sponsors happy, the news will talk about real stuff, the reality of human suffering rather than detouring crap that makes everyone dwell on there small world rather than the worlds true problems

food shelter are free in this life you mean america? america is about 3% of the world my friend.

I know the extent of why. But it still is a horible reality, most often I dont let this thought enter my daily perception of the world, because it is to bleak. Buts its there and the easy solution is there, but what is lacking, is why its not in place. Forgive me for not saying this elegantly, Iv been drinking. Its simple we have the money, im not saying to merely give a man a fish, but also in turn we can teach them to fish. I have a horribly depressing feeling the 2% want the starving to starve, less they lose profit, in ways that range from the humanitarian aid we give them in exchange for a insanely good prices to who knows what. Im going to stop adding details, the easy answer is greed and that those "greedy" people want to live on a edge. If you have everything what is the fullfilment in giving others basic needs? The less others have the more you feel you have. Meh I really dont know good night all. Thank you whatever allowed me to be born in this place where im not starving.

Im stating fact not delusion. 2% of the world does own 98% of the money and 1% of there money would feed the world more then ten times over.

What you sow is what you reap yeah that makes alot of sense.. If i was born into a family where i never had to work a day in my life and had everything thing i wanted, how did i "sow" what i reaped? If i was born in a area in a world were there was no land available to even make into a farmland due to the fact that the government controlled the land. And that the govenrment had sanctioned all the land in my area to be built into mining areas for diamonds or oil fields or whatever they damn well please, no matter what i "sowed" i wouldnt reap myself or any of the people around me out of starvation. Sorry i dont live in a glass box.

Gryphon you might actualy have a point if my % were wrong.

By the way we are all aware of the full fish quote, its common knowledge. Thats why i didnt give the full quote but thank you for stating the obvious that helps alot. By the way if the percentages are wrong, where are you getting this information? What is the right %, I think your lying and you have absoloutly no source behind what you say. Otherwise you would have posted what you believe to be the correct %.

Oh yeah i forgot to add the other obvious thing you posted, the money food we give to third world countries "humanitarian aid" is also common knowledge and you know what the sky is blue? Your on page 1 while most everyone else that responded to this question is at the end of the book. This question flew over your head gryphon.

Answer 1

This is indeed the gravest issue before us and too many of us do not even want to accept the gravity of the situation. All our intelligence and wisdom come a cropper when we ourselves choose to close our eyes and ears and indulge in that great intellectual game of deceiving ourselves whenever the truth is so horrible.

I think we are the worst beast on this earth because of our arrogant hypocrisy...... our intelligence is governed by demeaning values such as narrow selfishness and undue emphasis on the quantity instead of quality and myopic preference on the short term instead of the long term....... these demeaning values ensure that there is no meaning to our life.

In my view, there can be absolutely no excuse why 35000 people should die daily due to starvation, when food supply at any time in the world as a whole is more than 150% of the total requirement..... is there any excuse why we can not ensure the excess food to reach those who are starving for food?

The world is so dehumanized because of erosion of the basic values of humanity due to selfishness, shortsightedness and quantity-orientation..... this I believe is the most important reason why we ourselves are a highly 'endangered species' while we are hypocritically trying to protect other endangered species to boost our arrogant ego. I don't know whether to laugh or cry!!

A great question which has always bothered me like Hell!!

Answer 2

I think we donot want to see 'money' as the root cause of these evils. Who invented this ? Before money was invented how were people managing? Were they not living well?

Now this new measurement of living standard , money, makes us feel bad.98% of the world are happy without TV , Washing machine , Eric Clapton and Nike shoes. They live simple lives , happy with what they have. It is we who impose 'our' standards on them and say they are unhappy. tell me. Our friend and a great soul, Bill gates has a lot of money but how much can he spend on himself or on his children ? Very little .

Owning is not important. real happiness is important. Bill gates is very happy giving . So are many many people .

If business people bleed a country with natural resources ( mostly African countries) and deny basic needs no one is blaming them. For the sake of oil , for minerals, for other goodies politicians backed by business go to any extent. It is in this background that we see and appreciate the likes of Bill Gates and many such great philanthrophists. Friend , can you imagine what I am saying?

A country of nearly 1 billion , INDIA , which was struggling till 1992 , in just 15 years , has been pulled up by computer based , clean business pulls of america to be come one fast developing nation . Just 15 years . People are earning . Are happy.

It is possible . Donot worry. Africa and south Americas will come up so fast. Look at Brazil. I am very confident the world is going the right way. anamolies will correct themselves. Your children will be in a better , more equitable world .

Answer 3

Why even pose the question when you are not open to any ideas other than your own?

Juts wanted to make yourself feel better by ranting like a lunatic?

You need to have a better understanding of how the world really works.

The US, Japan, and most of the European nations continually pump moneys, food, supplies, knowledge into third world countries. Giving these people handouts is not the answer. It goes back to the old adage of, "Feed a man a fish and he eats for a day, teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime."

The other problem is, that all this releif effort we send over there, a mojority of it is seized by local cheiftains and kept for themselves and their groups and not given to those who need it. US led troops with the support of the UN tried to get food to people in Mogadishu, and you see how much resistance was given to us.

The groups in power want the people we are trying to help to starve. They want to exterminate them, and then keep the riches we are trying to bestow upon the less fortunate for themselves.

So next time, before you start ranting about percentages and people starving...you might want to better educate yourself on what is going on. The problem is not here, it's over there.

Answer 4

Starvation is not a food or money problem, it is a problem of distribution. The governments of several countries are so corrupt and/or inept that food aid sits on the docs and rots. As long as we recognize the sovereignty of those governments, not much can be done but diplomacy and advocacy.

Answer 5

I would attempt to answer your question, but you are so caught up in your own delusion, I doubt you would see or appreciate another point of view. All I will say is "As you sow, so shall you reap". No offense meant, only trying to help you understand how this world is the way it is.

Answer 6

The roots of starvation (on the global level, which is what I am assuming you are referring to here) are firmly planted in highly complex human interaction soils, so to speak - where easy answers are abound, but real and workable solutions are extremely hard to come by.

First of all, let me say this: Although I am an avid advocate of democracy, freedom, and the individual's inalienable right to private property, on a purely humanitarian level I completely agree with you. The highly skewed distribution of wealth worldwide has not only resulted in unadulterated human misery/tragedy, but just as importantly has led to an extremely unstable / volatile prospect for the collective future of humanity and the environment.

I am NOT attempting to get into a heated discussion with anyone here, but I do NOT agree with our honorable friend's view that the majority of the starving population of the world (especially in regions devastated by drought, disease, political corruption, and/or civil war) has the option/luxury of simply living off the land! That would be imprudently and arrogantly oversimplifying an otherwise extremely complicated scenario.

So you might ask: Okay all that fancy analysis is fine and dandy but what can we do to reverse this abominable trend? Obviously, I do NOT claim to have a definitive answer to that question. Nonetheless, if we consider that starvation, not unlike other social diseases, is a reflection of our overall outlook on life, then one can point to certain key observations that appear to be an integral part of an eventual and definitive solution.

First and foremost, I believe there must be the visionary resolve/commitment backed by genuine good will, particularly on the part of the richer nations of the world, calling for the "walking in the path of" eradication of untouchable misery and hunger worldwide.

Secondly, we must recognize that with globalization in high economic gear there are no longer any true hiding places left in this world. While we are preoccupied with the war on terrorism (as we should be) and chipping away at the constitutional rights of our own citizens (as we definitely should NOT be), we cannot afford to lose sight of the fact that our world, at ~ 7 billion people, is fast headed for environmental/natural disasters and disease pandemics that are just around the bend – no longer a question of “IF” but merely “WHEN”. I am NOT trying to sound like a profit of the doom; I am merely stating The Facts. Humanity has reached an alarming predicament, especially when you consider the fact (as you aptly pointed out) that the poor of this world may not have much, but when it comes to the numbers game, as cruel irony shall have it, that’s the one thing they happen to have in abundance - numbers. Meaning, any worldwide pandemic wave of destruction and mayhem (be it environmental and/or disease based) can easily be amplified into a massive Tsunami scale disaster when hitting the masses upon masses of poor and ill-prepared populations of the world; potentially spreading like wildfire out of control. Risk is the ever present constant of the human condition, and security is the most illusive of all constructions. If we think we can bury our heads in the sandy beaches of our fortified and isolated island-paradise, while the rest of the world is dying by the millions from hunger, mutating viruses, etc., then our national security measures have grossly mislead us into a false sense of security.

P.S. You might find the following youtube videos interesting (this is NOT sensationalism, unfortunately this is REALITY and these are REAL people. Please be advised, some of these images maybe quite disturbing, but I think if we don’t have the courage to watch them, then we also should NOT have the courage to allow them to continue either):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8z1buym2xUM

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YOGbr3Zkzw

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzPjyNMhtos&mode=related&search=
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Thank you for your question.
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***** Oh yeah and I almost forgot (PLEASE see this one till the very end):
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaKDG8UKemc&mode=related&search=
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Answer 7

'Everything is suffering' If I am correct that is one of the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism. I'm not Buddist but I can agree with that. Another one of the noble truths is 'To end suffering we must end our selfish desires.' I hope this helps

Answer 8

The world is the way it is because Worldbuilders Inc. holds the patent on earth planet design.

Stock went up 17 points last quarter.

Answer 9

starvation is a choice, if i were to quit my job this moment and never work again i would certainly find a way to eat. food water and shelter are free in this life. i know thisfor a fact i lived off the land for 2 years when i was 20

Answer 10

your thinking of the us not the world. for the money thing any way.