Thoughts on // "Enoughness"

Whilst I was perusing the international relations section in the library today, a most curious book grabbed my attention. Entitled Enough [John Naish], the book centred on ideas of consumerism, necessity vs. excess and the need for a re-evolution of the human race. And so this fortunate [or unfortunate in terms of my coursework...] sidetracking led me to have a little ponder about this in relation to our world; on the one hand, we have nations living in luxurious excessive, when there are simultaneously around one billion people living in absolute poverty, with next to nothing. So as much is this is a case of reducing what we consume for the sake of our world and its resources, distribution of these is a big area that needs to be confronted. A few examples:

1. The richest 85 people in the world have a combined wealth of £1trillion - equal to the wealth of the poorest 3.5 billion of the world's population. [Oxfam]
2. If all food was re-distributed evenly, there would be enough wheat, rice and other grains to provide every human being with 3,200 calories a day. [Rehydration project]
3. Less than one per cent of what the world spent every year on weapons was needed to put every child into school by the year 2000 and yet it didn’t happen. [New Internationalist]

Glasto '10

How is this fair that in the "western world" we are finally waking up to the fact that we consume more than we need, when so many cannot even meet their basic needs? Furthermore, does having more stuff really make us happier? I'm not saying I have a totally clean conscience and I know that I shouldn't have ordered that dress on-line that I didn't really need last night, and I could have quite easily gone without that medium americano at lunch today; but taking the issue of over consumption on-board is something I want to try and build into my daily mentality. Less sometimes really is more I suppose!

To summarise, I nabbed this rather well-written quote from the book [who nabbed it from somewhere else]....

"It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more who is poor" 

Seneca, Epistulae Morales

What do you think?

Thoughts on // Equality and the 21st Century

On reading the newspaper during this mornings train journey, I was faced with a most shocking cover story; 3 women, of varying age and ethnicity had been kept as domestic slaves in a house in South London for over 30 years, possibly having suffered mental and physical abuse. This story made me both sad and frustrated - how can we as a country claim to be "developed" if such extreme cases of abuse and inequality still exist within our society? And with the upcoming release of the new Mandela film I thought today would be a suitable excuse for me to write a post on equality.

Larmer Tree Festival [2012]

Being able to experience travel from a young age has helped to teach me what I believe to be one of the most valuable social skills; acceptance. But it's not just an acceptance of place and culture, it's also an appreciation - accepting traditional culture is important but being able to appreciate and adapt it to the 21st century  is even more relevant as our world continues to globalise. We are no longer separate nations and races but one global community connected through trains, planes and cyber space. I'm not saying forget patriotism and individuality - there is nothing wrong with taking pride in oneself and your country, but what I am saying is that surely the world would benefit from a little more tolerance and understanding? It's not just where you come from; we should not be afraid of defining ourselves with age, gender, sexual orientation, faith or ethnicity - things we should be proud of - but we should not let these factors stand between us and the next person. Whether you believe the knowledge and power of the human race was given to us by God, Brahma, Allah or Charles Darwin and his monkeys, we are all in it together and I think that's something we tend to forget as we get wrapped up in the technology-fuelled, work-saturated isolation of modern society.

Whether you organise a campaign to help rural communities in Zambia, support your college's LGBT society or simply smile at someone in the street, kindness and equality toward each other is a positive thing that we can all play a part in. 

- On a side note I would just like to say that anyone that can, please, please help raise awareness, donate, campaign to help those suffering in the Philippines. My thoughts go out to all those affected by typhoon Haiyan. Support the Oxfam campaign here. -

All thoughts on this post are welcome in the comments below; keep smiling and stand up for what you believe in!