The world has become a much more unequal place to live and there are no justice and unity.
So,this is it…the richest one percent of the world’s population now own more than the rest of us combined, according to a report released by an aid group called Oxfam, last week. This increase in gap between rich and poor has created a world where 62 people own as much wealth as the poorest half of the world’s population, some 3.5 billion people - as the super-rich have grown richer and the poor poorer. The world has become a much more unequal place to live and there are no justice and unity.
Guess what, of the 62 people said to hold as much wealth as the poorest 50 percent, according to Oxfam report, 53 are men and just nine are female, highlighting that women are ill-represented even at the highest levels.
It is sad that in the 21st century, a relatively small percentage of humankind has immense wealth, while the majority of the world's population lives in dire poverty and misery. This imbalance exists both within nations and between nations. Moreover, the gap that separates rich and poor continues to widen, which indicates that the current existing economic systems are incapable of restoring a just balance.
While the economic crisis in various countries has led many to focus on inequalities at the national level, the extremes between rich and poor internationally have also grown to become a threat to global stability. In spite of many member countries of the United Nations have agreed to raise income inequality as outstanding issues on the international agenda, the gap between the richest and the rest has widened dramatically in the past 12 months.
In an interconnected world, where the wealth of many of the world’s richest individuals exceeds the gross domestic product of entire nations, extreme poverty and extreme wealth exist side by side. While the leaders of the world and the community leaders are working towards finding remedial efforts to solve the problems of the poor, they fail to probe the concentration of the wealth in the hands of the few people in the world.
While the number of people living in extreme poverty halved between 1990 and 2010, a few reasons are noted for rising inequality, such as climate changes and the tax havens — use of offshore centers to avoid paying taxes by major corporations. According to Oxfam, which is calling for an end to the era of tax havens, this has denied governments in certain continents valuable resources needed to tackle poverty and inequality. In Africa alone, as much as 30 percent of all African financial wealth is estimated to be held offshore, costing an estimated $14 billion in lost tax revenues each year. It's estimated that a quarter of all global wealth – as much as $32trillion– is held offshore, and is untaxed.
The aid group has challenged all world leaders to play their part in ending the era of tax havens which is fueling economic inequality and preventing hundreds of millions of people lifting themselves out of poverty.
Climate change looms as still another impending major threat for the world’s poor and become another reason for the inequalities. Scientists project that it will cause diminished agricultural productivity and water shortages as well as increased flooding and storm damage in some of the world’s poorest countries. By one estimate, agricultural productivity losses associated with climate change could increase the number of people suffering from malnutrition by 600 million by 2080. And flooding due to rising sea levels could cause as many as 330 million people to be displaced from their homes.
A satisfactory solution to narrow the gap between rich and poor and to eradicate poverty lies in a profound change of heart and mind which only religion can produce. The human and material resources at our disposal must be used for the long-term good of all, not for the short-term advantage of a few.
This can be done only if cooperation becomes the basis of organized economic activity among business leaders and among nations. Eradication of poverty can be eliminated through the implementation of laws to bring justice to all, adjustment of economic systems within the country and among countries, a just distribution of wealth and opportunity to all segments of the society, and leading a high ethical and spiritual standards in public life by all. Cooperation gives life to society just as the life of an organism is maintained by the cooperation of the various elements of which it is composed.
Baha’u’llah, the Prophet Founder of the Baha’i Faith, more than a century ago said, that the fundamentals of the whole economic condition are divine in nature and are associated with the world of the heart and spirit. The Bahá'í Teachings call not only for the alleviation of poverty, but for the elimination of the extremes of poverty and wealth. The rich are called upon to share their wealth voluntarily and that the redistribution of wealth does not imply that all people will receive exactly the same amount.
“They who are possessed of riches, however, must have the utmost regard for the poor, for great is the honor destined by God for those poor who are steadfast in patience. By My Life! There is no honor, except what God may please to bestow, that can compare to this honor. Great is the blessedness awaiting the poor that endure patiently and conceal their sufferings, and well is it with the rich who bestow their riches on the needy and prefer them before themselves.”(Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah, p. 202)
Abdul Baha, the eldest son of Baha’u’llah and authorized interpreter of the Bahá’í Writings said, “Hearts must be so cemented together, love must become so dominant that the rich shall most willingly extend assistance to the poor and take steps to establish these economic adjustments permanently. If it is accomplished in this way, it will be most praiseworthy because then it will be for the sake of God and in the pathway of His service. For example, it will be as if the rich inhabitants of a city should say, “It is neither just nor lawful that we should possess great wealth while there is abject poverty in this community,” and then willingly give their wealth to the poor, retaining only as much as will enable them to live comfortably.”
In summary, governments and community leaders can no longer afford to stand idly by while inequality increases. The leaders of countries should conform to the Divine Law which gives equal justice to all. There must be special laws made, dealing with these extremes of riches and of want. This is the time to act.
Comments