Monday, December 9, 2013

Those low, low prices mean someone else's low, low wages

The world's hunger is getting ridiculous. There is more fruit in a rich man's shampoo than in a poor man's plate...


This is the world we know today- the world of capitalism and consumerism. A world where one can enslave fellow humans, rape the planet and be praised for their good business sense. We all feel sorry for the people in Africa, we cry when we see a hungry child, resembling a skeleton with skin, we protest when we hear about some global companies using sweat shops and child's labour. However, all this is hypocrisy. It is hypocrisy, because despite knowing, for instance, that the phone we want has been constructed in sweat shops in a third world country we would go and buy it. Have you ever wondered why Africa, which has the biggest deposits of diamonds, is the poorest continent in the world? Do you think it is normal people to die in hunger there, when diamonds are the most expensive gemstones? I personally don't think it is.

It is normal people to pay little or no attention to what happens so far away from them, especially when they live a normal life and all their needs are met. However, Napoleon has said something very true- "The world suffers a lot. Not because of the violence of bad people, but because of the silence of good people." Sometimes we close our eyes for what is happening before us and prefer to live in our own, imaginary world instead. We do this in an attempt to lull our conscience, but sooner or later it comes out again, reminding us what's right and what's wrong. Everyone, deep inside them, knows what is good and what is bad and where the border between them lays. However, sometimes this truth is hard to accept because what is wrong could make us happy, while what is right could make us suffer. Having all we need would make us happy. Having more than what we need would make us even happier. Because greed is in our nature. The more the better, they say. But sometimes, the fact we have more might mean someone else has less or even worse, might mean someone else has nothing. Our prime purpose in life is to help others. And if we can't help them, we might at least try not to hurt them.

Consumerism and capitalism idolize money and material goods. People are dazzled by them and don't realise they have become their slaves. Material goods are there to serve us, however, it is the other way around right now - we serve them. People work for the sake of possessing goods rather than using them. Why would you give thousands of dollars for a bag, while some people live with less than a dollar per day?

Of couse every era we live in is associated with something negative - wars, hunger, deseases, poverty etc. But during all eras there are always two types of people - people who live well and people who don't live well. And when those living well give half of their possessions to those who are not living well and when they do it with their hearts, world will know peace and happiness...