What Do You Think Is the Biggest Problem Facing the World?

6. What do you think is the biggest problem facing the world today?

I would say greed and ignorance is the biggest problem facing the world today. It is an aspect of human nature and seemingly intractable. I don’t expect the mass of humanity to undergo spiritual transformation to amend these aspects. However I do think that in order for problems to be solved such as objective conditions e.g. war and poverty, there has to be a change in social ethos- that of which is generally considered desirable in our social attitudes and behaviour. I suppose greed and arrogance will not just disappear but I believe there needs to be a general recognition that these traits are destructive and inappropriate for our planet. Nowadays, humility and compassion tend to be ridiculed and is associated with a sort of airy and unrealistic idealism that is practically unfeasible. This primary problem has prevented the world from making progress in resolving the problems of poverty, disease, industrial crisis and conflict which all stem from greed. I believe that if the world’s resources were distributed evenly, then there would probably be enough food, water and shelter for everyone. Greed has caused rich nations, companies and individuals to refuse to consider the human and moral implications of their actions. Ignorance has robbed many people of the knowledge and exposure necessary to improve their actions in the world. In addition, with greed and ignorance comes lack of morals. People think more about themselves than others. The more this happens, the less aid will be sent to those in need; the fewer problems will be solved, as it doesn’t pertain to them so why should they care?, the more diseases will be spread; the more people will tend to feel isolated, causing the suicide rate to increase. Without morals, there is also a tendency to forget about the long-term (global warming). Also, this leads to blaming others rather than taking personal responsibility, which will either harm that person or everyone else around them through either violence, apathy, feelings of helplessness, frivolous lawsuits and of course, unexplored potential. Many great leaders have been lost because of this. Furthermore, many of us are so ignorant and don’t care, and I am just as guilty of this as anyone. People believe it doesn’t truly affect them and so they keep out of it. In spite of this, if we all vouch to do something about it, we could definitely accomplish a great deed. Though motivation is hard to come by these days and we only have a small majority that are truly speaking out. Although we as humans beings are intelligent and creative people fully capable of compassion and charity and using all our talents to help the not so fortunate around the world, we are also full of arrogance, self absorbed and as I mentioned before lacked morality. All of that leading to more suffering than what life naturally throws at us. Lastly, less hypocrisy is what is required and open-mindedness to listen to other opposing views regardless of whether you agree or disagree. More importantly: kindness in word and in deed. For most of us, we could count your kind words and deeds on one hand but our bitter acts are too numerous to measure. Mankind needs to do more to build a world where progress, peace, prosperity and health exist worldwide. The responsibility lies with each and every one of us.