Is All Lost For The Human Kind?

There are 20 ongoing large scale armed conflicts in the world today. The civil wars in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (the largest war since World War II), Chechnya, Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal, Colombia, Sudan and Somalia are to be blamed for the death of innocent people every day. There is little sign of peace treaties or other agreements in the foreseeable future.

Many conflicts are receiving great media attention, especially the War on Terrorism following the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York. The occupation of Afghanistan, and most controversially, Iraq, continue to be broadcasted on BBC World, CNN and other networks almost every minute of the day. Contrarily, other conflicts, such as those in Nagaland and Baluchistan receive only cursory coverage, if at all, and rely on the Internet to broadcast their suffering.

The War on Terrorism has seen many controversies over the seeming abolition of civil liberties of the ‘terrorists’ in the countries of the ‘Axis of Evil’, accusations of torture, continued terrorist attacks and ongoing instability, violence, and military occupation. Considerable concern remains about nuclear proliferation in Iran and North Korea, and the availability of weapons of mass destruction to Islamic and non-Islamic extremist groups.

Evidence suggests that poverty in undeveloped countries is largely responsible for many of those sufferings. Poverty, in its turn, is accelerated by the increase of world population. The United Nations estimates that world population will reach 9.1 billion by mid-century. Such growth raises questions of ecological sustainability and is the prolificator of many economic and political disruptions mentioned earlier in the text. Apart from the struggle between peoples, considerable debate exists over what the ultimate carrying capacity of the actually planet may be.

Policies which either force or encourage citizens to have fewer children are being adopted. These attempt to at least contain, if not reduce, the amount of children being born. In countries like India and China, this has not seen too much success.

Trough advances in telecommunications and transportation, huge economic and cultural shifts are taking place. The expansion of capitalism and democracy, and free trade agreements have resulted in unprecedented global economic and cultural integration, which some call a culture of intellectual poverty for the seeming loss of diversity.

Trends such as increased pollution, deforestation and biodiversity are greatly linked to the development of this modern world. In the recent 100 years, the world has consumed more than in all of its previous history, and consumption is on the increase, especially in less developed nations. Resources that could be depleted soon include oil and natural gas.

The world needs a shift towards greener capitalism. There is little promises of bringing more unity to this often divided world, if steps are not taken in animal and environment protection, reusability of consumables, and most importantly: the education and development of a more open and aware citizen of the world. The entities responsible for these changes are the governance, the industry, and the people themselves.

Without an urgent change in our direction, there is little hope for the human kind.