There are billions of people in our world that are constrained by not having enough choice.
How many people in the world don’t have a choice of what their next meal will be? How much they will get? How nourishing it is?
How many children must work, and do not have the opportunity to go to school?
How many children do not have a choice of more than one thing to wear? Or are forced to wear something for religious reasons?
How many people pray to an unjust and cruel God, for fear of the wrath of their own family or community, (and not God), to ask questions?
How many people are not given the chance to speak out against their ruling government for fear of imprisonment or death?
Basic human and civil liberties are something that have improved over the past 50 years, and simple metrics like reductions in poverty and in deaths by malnutrition tell us this. But in an ever shrinking world brought together by the internet, inequalities are far more visible. And the sensitive nature of some of these topics are such that people speaking out can face ridicule, harassment, and might even fear for their lives.
Some people are given less choice about how they get to live their lives: The language they speak, their geography, their ethnicity, their gender, their sexual orientation, their parents, their social and economic status, all these can in some way limit or privilege the choices a person has. But for many, they are not limited in their ability to see what others have, and even show off, that they do not have. Affluence and privilege is flaunted openly and excessively. This creates an even bigger divide, because the rich and the famous so obviously have choices that others do not. Agency feels relative when comparing those who have much of it from those that do not.
How important is the right to basic survival (food and shelter)?
How important is the right to a good education?
How important are civil rights and freedoms?
These are all vitally important when they are not available, and easy to undervalue when they are readily available. When we are given the freedom and choices others are not, what is our obligation to speak up and to help the less fortunate?
What obligation should the wealthiest people of the world, those with the most choice, have towards those with less choice?
If you earned $1,300.00 a day for 2,000 years, you still wouldn’t be a billionaire. If you spent $36,000.00 a day for 75 years, you still would not have spent a billion dollars. How is it that the number of billionaires in the world are growing? What does this small group of people need this much money for?
Inequalities are so blatantly obvious in our world today. Some of these are being addressed in amazing ways, but globally inequalities are being exaggerated. Geography, wealth, culture, and history matter significantly and these all factor into the choices people have and, in many cases, the choices people don’t have. I think the most powerful choice we can make is to choose what we value, and devote time, effort, and compassion to those with less choice than us… and not valuing fortune, fame, and financial affluence. This is a choice we can all make.
