Reflection 12

The World Bank speaker brought up some interesting talking points to discuss in terms of world necessity and impoverished nations. I think the point that she hit on a lot was the fact that nations who have been brought out of economic depressions by the World Bank funds hopefully circle back and become a donator for other nations in the same situation, kind of a “pay-it-forward” deal. This discussion involving the financial resources comparatively and internationally fit neatly into our class discussion of poverty on a grander scale. The donations to charity that are made from relatively wealthier nations sometimes stem from a feeling of guilt and shame for having better fortune than others, for no real reason. From a personal point of view, there is no real reason as to why I was born into a family that will never (presumably) have the same fears as a family struggling in a third world country.

Unfortunately, the common American ideal is one of equality and justice for all- but how does that coexist peacefully with the image of a starving child in a nation across the globe? How do we, as those who are privileged, explain the discrepancy between income and opportunity gaps and still promote the same concepts of equality and justice? This is where the question of equality of opportunity. I think the better explanation for why we allow this to continue is because we believe in equality of opportunity- the misguided notion that we are all blessed with the same amounts of opportunity if you really, really try (hard enough, and if it doesn’t work, try harder). The reality is, sometimes you can’t work hard enough to pull yourself out of the societal rut that has plagued generations. The discussion of poverty in third-world countries is often accompanied by the discussion of development and the best course of action to remedy the situation that is often connected to (a lack of) infrastructure. Poverty is not an issue that can be remedied by simple guilt, but rather an entirely new perspective on charity and how giving should not be necessarily associated with guilt.