Notwithstanding the existentialist threats of the arms race, regional/ global hegemony, economic warfare etc., the other- less focused- threats that can destabilize world peace are unacceptable inequalities, population explosion and pandemics.
Having earlier written on viral pandemics, this article would zoom in on the inequalities bit. This threat was well-captured in Oxfam January 2022 report – referenced in this article-.
The report elaborates that the “inequality virus” still kills an estimated 2.1 M people each year, at least 21,300 people each day, one death every 4 seconds.
It further adds that another estimated 5.6 million people die each year for lack of access to healthcare in poor countries; pandemic excluded. Hunger kills another 2.1 Million each year.
The Corona pandemic has further widened economic, racial inequalities and the inequalities amongst the nations.
The Pandemic has so far killed 5.73 Million people and infected around 39 million, it has inflicted trillions of USD losses in economic terms, have rendered more than 120 M jobless.
The irony is that people of low- and middle-income countries are twice likely to die from COVID-19 infection as those living in rich countries.
The irony is that people of low- and middle-income countries are twice likely to die from COVID-19 infection as those living in rich countries. Millions would have still been alive today if they had had an equal chance to a vaccine (Only 7% population vaccinated in Africa against 80 % in the North). This “vaccine apartheid” created by the unsatiated thirst of capitalist economies is key to high poor’s mortality.
On the other hand, an analysis by the “World Inequality Lab” reveals that since 1995, the top 1% rich have captured 19 times more of global wealth than the whole of the bottom 50% of humanity.
The wealth of 10 billionaires increased by 540 bn $ in this pandemic period alone.
All this is not just a fait accompli, but consequences of poor choices and interest steered decision making.
This “economic discrimination” is perpetrated when structural policy choices are made by the elites, for the elites, at the cost of the poor who are not heard and the middle class who can’t speak.
The rising inequalities -inter- nations and intra-national- have deep global peace stakes.
The realization amongst the poor of being exploited, discriminated and oppressed may create vengeance towards the well-off. Gradually the lava that accumulates over time either may attain saturation or with a little stimulus can burst with a big bang.
The universal conscience of the poor may unite one day in their villages, countries and trans-boundaries to shred the shades of capitalism, imperialism and corporate greed. This kind of frustration often manifests itself in acts of violence here and there, which are intrinsically linked one or the other way to this perception.
Daron and J. Robinson in their famous book “Why Nations Fail” have attributed a nation’s failure to two interrelated phenomena, extraction of Economy and extraction of Power space by the elites. UNDP reports that Economic privileges accorded to Pakistan’s elites, – including the corporate sector, feudal landlords and the ruling class- add up to an estimated $17.4bn. It adds that the richest 20 per cent of Pakistanis hold 49.6 per cent of the national income, compared with the poorest 20 per cent, who hold just 7 per cent.
Capitalist systems have one universal conscience and one universal narrative – more profits at the cost of exploiting the poor, the powerless and the voiceless, 360 Degrees-.
The situation at hand more or less mimics that of pre-1789 France?
By any lessons of history books, change seems to be the ultimate destiny. Changing this sordid status requires vision, leadership that can move the world from neoliberalism to a freer, fairer, equitable economic order.
The World bodies, UN, G-20, World Economic Forum, OIC etc. are indebted for steering the world out from a looming failure.
The world has to take certain preliminary steps essential for addressing the growing inequalities, as mentioned below:
Governments should discriminately tax the gains made by the super-rich especially during this pandemic period. “A 99% one-off windfall tax on the COVID-19 wealth gains of the 10 richest men alone would generate $812bn”, enough to fulfil the global vaccine demand and the financing gap in universal health coverage.
Taxing the rich corporations has a huge political cost that needs visionary, selfless leadership.
Rich countries should be mandated to channel significant portions of their collective $400bn worth of IMF “Special Drawing Rights” to vulnerable and poor economies in smooth and manageable transactions. Putting harsh and unreasonable conditions that impoverish the poor further aggravate the divide and wouldn’t help many; not even IMF.
Using the Noam Chomsky lens, all governments should be bound morally to invest proportionately in policies that narrow the capitalism induced economic divide. The world must strive for addressing the barriers to women, marginalised communities and middle-class representation in decisions making forums. Rich Governments be persuaded to move from “Vaccine Capitalism” to “Vaccine Humanism”. Vaccine/ technological formulas should be declared public goods, available to every qualified manufacturer in the world. A few regional vaccine manufacturing hubs in Africa, Asia and Latin America would address the urgent vaccine gap. We need systemic solutions in concrete terms; a reversal of the disastrous monopolization of finance, knowledge, politics, services and natural resources.
Unless this happens, systemic ills will prolong, millions will needlessly die, and inequalities will expand; putting world peace at stake.
The world has two choices:
Either choose an exploitative economy in which few billionaire’s wealth booms, millions are killed, and billions are impoverished.
Or, we choose a model based on equity, equality, where equal opportunities are fairly distributed, where the billionaire’s capital can’t kill any life, any truth, dignity and hope? Unless the structures perpetuating a “vicious status quo” are replaced with equitable and fairer redistributive mechanisms of wealth, space, knowledge and power; the threat to world peace amplifies.
All this is not just abstract imagination but an algorithm of workable strategies for sustained global peace; we just need to change our thinking and gather courage.
The author is a recognized public policy and health expert. He can be reached at nadeemjan77@hotmail.com.
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