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Citizens around the world are finally waking up to 21st century’s socio-economic imbalance?
1-08-2020
The year 2019 ended as it began, global political turmoil, chaos, unrest, protests, argument over climate change, arrests, war, terrorism, discriminatory laws to marginalized citizens, and more of the same. The year 2020 does not look any different. The tsunami of protests which swept across six continents targeting so-called democrats and autocratic demagogues does not seem to end in 2020. The real power no longer flows through the barrel of gun. Rather it flows through tips of the fingers on a keyboard calculated by a complex algorithm.
Lest we hope, there is a blessing in disguise in all of this. Is it simply the age-old struggle between haves and have-nots? Or could it be that citizens around the world are finally waking up to 21st century’s socio-economic imbalance?
Speaking to correspondents at UN Headquarters in New York, UN Secretary General, António Guterres said that although “every situation is unique” there are common underlying factors which constitute “rising threats to the social contract” between citizens and the political class.
António Guterres urged leaders everywhere “to listen to the real problems of real people”. He also stressed that the world “needs action and ambition to build a fair globalization, strengthen social cohesion, and tackle the climate crisis”.
Are the citizens around the world realizing that those in power simply want to keep the rest of the population suppressed. Thus, human instinct kicking in and rising to stand up to the bullies that wishes to keep them in the dark and under their thumb.
All protests have similar underlying grievances: global income and wealth inequality, corruption, political freedom, and climate change topping the list – economics and autonomy. The center of it all which the world sees it as the root cause of all global problems – Global Threat – United States of America.
Citizens around the world are determined to reclaim their destiny, for themselves and their children. Whether it be regional, national, global, religious, or cultural. They want to be free. Struggle for freedom requires stamina, courage, willingness to go the distance, blood and lives – lots of it.
According to inequality.org “The world’s richest 1 percent, those with more than $1 million, own 45 percent of the world’s wealth. Adults with less than $10,000 in wealth make up 64 percent of the world’s population but hold less than 2 percent of global wealth. The world’s wealthiest individuals, those owning over $100,000 in assets, total less than 10 percent of the global population but own 84 percent of global wealth. Credit Suisse defines “wealth” as the value of a household’s financial assets plus real assets (principally housing), minus their debts.”
“Since 1980, the share of national income going to the richest 1 percent has increased rapidly in North America (defined here as the United States and Canada), China, India, and Russia and more moderately in Europe.” Meanwhile, “Middle East, sub-Saharan Africa, and Brazil, have had relatively stable, but extremely high levels of inequality.”
“The top 1 percent in the United States holds 42.5 percent of national wealth, a far greater share than in other OECD countries. In no other industrial nation does the richest 1 percent own more than 28 percent of their country’s wealth.”
“The United States dominates the global population of high net worth individuals, with nearly 5.3 million individuals owning at least $1 million in financial assets (not including their primary residence or consumer goods).”
Closer to home, we all saw headlines on first official working day in 2020, “By 10:09 a.m. on January 2nd, Canada's highest paid CEOs had made as much money as the average Canadian will earn all year, according to a new report.” Reported by CBC.
Some of the protests around the world in 2019 brought down the leaders, they include, Algeria, Bolivia, Iraq, Lebanon, and Sudan. Than there was other regime, such as Ecuador, Egypt, Georgia, Haiti, Peru, Poland, Russia and Zimbabwe which came close to regime changes through people’s power. Than there were movements that forced the governments change its course on controversial policies which included China, Chile and France.
Who would’ve thought that a relatively small protests over a tax on What’s App would ballooned into nation-wide anti-government protest forcing the Lebanese leader to step down? Ten percent of Algerians, about three million, took to the street demanding an end to president Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s twenty-year rule and succeed.
Many of the protests had some underlining issue related to economy. In Sudan, it was the price of the bread, in India, the price of onions, in Brazil, cutbacks to school text books, in Lebanon, tax on What’s App, Iran, four-cent increase on a litre of gas.
The number of protestors is not something that could be ignored. 7.4 million took to the street in Hong Kong, demanding Beijing to withdraw its controversial plans to extradite its citizens for a trial in China. Millions across India are protesting daily against Modi government’s attempts to change the citizenship Act which targets, barring Muslims, and other minorities from being considered as citizens of India, rendering them stateless. India is replicating Hitler’s Nuremberg, Reich Citizenship Laws, which targeted the Jews. History seemed to be repeating itself under the right-wing fanatics Hindu RSS. This has caused widespread protests around the nation from all minority groups as well as mainstream Hindus who are witnessing their nation being converted into Hitler style India.
According to foreignpolicy.com the ten top conflicts to watch on 2020 would be Afghanistan, Yemen, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Libya, United States-Iran-Israel-Persian Gulf, United States-North Kashmir, Venezuela, and Ukraine.
At Alameen Post, we believe United States-Iran conflict should be most concerning to all, as it may engulf the entire region of Middle-East and the Sub-Continent in a war to end all wars. The second biggest concern should be Kashmir, and protests that are taking place throughout India over citizenship act. Lastly, the third conflict the world should be concerned of is the stand-off between the Hong Kong youth demanding more autonomy, and Chinese government willing to go to any extent to quell the masses. In all three instances both sides have dug-in their trenches and unwilling to move an inch from their stance.
Lets hope and pray that the diplomacy prevails in ending all conflicts – lets give peace a chance.
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