As Children of God, we can no longer ignore the lives of our fellow Children of God. So, how do we fulfill our obligations to neighbors we shall never meet – in this life? First, we must view, understand this world containing multiple complexities of social, economic, governmental systems. Our world’s interconnection cannot be ignored any longer. We are all neighbors.
We must speak of man’s rights. Man has the right to live. He has the right to bodily integrity and to the means necessary for the proper development of life, particularly food, clothing, shelter, medical care, rest, and, finally, the necessary social services. In consequence, he has the right to be looked after in the event of ill health; disability stemming from his work; widowhood; old age; enforced unemployment; or whenever through no fault of his own he is deprived of the means of livelihood. (St. John XXIII, Peace on Earth [Pacem in Terris], no. 11)
In 1990, Dartmouth Professor Donella Meadows wrote an article titled, “State of the Village Report”, with the intent of displaying, for greater understanding, our world as a village of 100 people. In a glance, all can see the disgraceful condition of humanity, the misery, dejection, so many experiences, and the ignorance of others. Fortunately, we cannot see the tears of God in our blindness.
Our responsibility? Become aware, discuss, educate others. Somehow, act.
The World as a Village of 100*
Closing on eight billion brothers and sisters, I am presenting a mixture of data to ponder, reflect, and share. The only way I can try to improve our state of this small blue sphere – via information and knowledge. Applying, integrating data from various sources, I present the vision of our village. A composite presenting an understanding of our good fortune and the sorrow of many. This community, 100 individuals, would look something like this…
The Basics
Ethnicity
- 61 Asians
- 13 Africans
- 12 Europeans
- 8 North Americans
- 5 South Americans & the Caribbean
- 1 from Oceania
Age and Gender
- 26 would be under 14 years old.
- 8 are 65 years and over
- 50 male, 50 female
- 10 LGBTQ.
Religion
- 33 are Christian
- 21 Muslims
- 13 Hindus
- 11 other
- 11 non-religious
- 6 Buddhists
- 3 Atheists
- 1 Jewish
- 1 Sikh.
Skin Color
- 70 non-white
- 30 white.
Languages
- 17 speak Mandarin Chinese
- 9 English
- 8 Hindi
- 6 Russian
- 6 Spanish
- 4 Arabic
- 50 speak other languages of the 6,000 idioms languages spoken on our only home.
The Tragedies*
He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me’ (Matthew 25:45).
Food
- 50 would be malnourished
- 30 would always have enough (15 would be overweight)
- 20 would be undernourished (1 would be dying of starvation)
Freedoms
- 52 can speak, act according to faith & conscience, without fear of imprisonment, torture or death
- 48 cannot and must beware of whom they speak, where they speak, what they read, when to pray
- 20 would live in fear of death via bombing, armed attack, landmines, rape or kidnapping by armed groups
- 50 in the village would distrust their government.
Education and Technology
- 12 are unable to read this message
- 1 has a college degree
- 12 own a computer
- 77 use mobile phones, unequally distributed, some have 2 or more, others none
- 33 would be Internet users
- 15 would have home Internet connections
- 12 would be active users of Facebook
- Twenty consume 80% of the available energy. Eighty would consume 20% of remaining power.
Health and Living Condition
- 80 live in substandard housing
- 44 have no basic sanitation
- 32 breathe polluted air
- 20 have no clean, safe water to drink
- 1 adult has HIV/AIDS (70 million of our family)
In one year, 1 person will die, 2 babies are born. Year’s end there would be 101villagers. How many are disabled? How many receive proper care?
Employment
- 43 work in the service sector
- 36 in agriculture
- 21 in industry
- 10 of the above would be unemployed at some time
- 3 of the above would be migrants, internally displaced persons, and/or refugees.
Money and Wealth
- 59% of the world’s wealth owned by 6 people (all from the US)
- 39% of the world’s wealth is possessed by 74 people
- 20 people share the remaining 2% of the world’s wealth
- The villagers have 11 cars/light trucks unequally distributed
- The village spends $1.24 trillion (US$) on military expenditures
- If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, spare change, places you within the 8 richest
- If you have food in a refrigerator, clothes in a closet, a bed, and a roof, you are richer than 75 people.
Geographical Implications
- 51 live in urban areas. Seventy-five percent of these live in higher-density cities
- 60 would live within 62 miles of a coastline. Around 50 rely on coastal, marine habitats for essentials
- 82 live in underdeveloped countries having an average income of $5,440/year, equating disposable income of just $15/day. Fifty-one live on less than $2 a day
- 18 in developed nations have an average income of $32,470/year, equaling disposable income of $90/day
- Europe, the US, some Asia Pacific nations account for most of the extremely wealthy. About one-third live in the US. Japan accounts for 27%, the UK for 6%, France 5%
- Half of the population sees only the brightest stars due to light pollution. Imagine the psychological effect, the wonder of starry nights lost to young and old.
So much depends on where we are born and genetics. Appreciate every pain ache, annoyance. We won the Lottery. So share, use our given talents.
The Village contends with ethnic, cultural, religious distrust, with rapid depletion of minerals, resources, forest, wetlands, animal, plant species extinctions, and deteriorating air, soil, water quality. Many aware, many care, but do they have the wealth, influence, desire to act? Can human frailty of distrust, greed, etc., be overcome?
In human society one man’s natural right gives rise to a corresponding duty in other men; the duty, that is, of recognizing and respecting that right. Every basic human right draws its authoritative force from the natural law, which confers it and attaches to it its respective duty. Hence, to claim one’s rights and ignore one’s duties, or only half fulfill them, is like building a house with one hand and tearing it down with the other. (St. John XXIII, Peace on Earth [Pacem in Terris], no.30)
*Please note, aggregated data. Data depends on the date, method of calculation, etc. Categories combined to display our inequities of resource distributions, social inequalities. This is just a general display of our small planet. Some phrasing and terminology have been adjusted. I wonder what comparisons by decades would show?
Sources:
https://usm.maine.edu/international/if-world-were-village-100-0
https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/global-village.htm
http://www.mysterra.org/webmag/coup-de-coeur_en.html
This article first appeared in The Catholic Stand
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