Month: September 2017

‘A woman cannot be herself in the society of the present day,

which is an exclusively masculine society,

with laws framed by men and with a judicial system

that judges feminine conduct from a masculine point of view’

– Henrik Ibsen

Ibsen was a man ahead of his time, having a modern outlook upon society, and understanding the issues almost a century ahead of his time. To a certain extent, this quote by him still holds true to this very day, where prejudice, sexism, and inequality are frequently visited topics. Although women’s rights have progressed a lot since the late 19th Century, there are still unresolved issues, somehow rooted into the brains and hearts of conservative males, brought upon by tradition, religion, and belief systems.

In the United States alone, a country admired for its liberalist views, the pay gap between males and females are still at 20%, which is unjust considering the sacrifices everyone makes for their work.

However, the United States and its pay gap issues are just a fraction of the problems that women face on a global level. Gender equality, as you tend to go East, decreases, due to religion. Muslim traditions are very limiting for women. Other prospects besides cooking, cleaning and tending to the children are rare in this religion.

‘Women had been treated as possessions of their husbands; Islamic law made the education of girls a sacred duty and gave women the right to own and inherit property. The Taliban, with its fanatical subjugation of the female sex, occupies an extreme, but it nevertheless belongs on a continuum that includes, not so far down the line, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Pakistan and the relatively moderate states of Egypt and Jordan.’

– Time Magazine

The economy, is shaped and in constant movement. It is either in the process of growth or in decline. Economies are run by governments, business, entrepreneurs, but most importantly, us, the people. In the short term, Economic growth has tremendous benefits; the more an economy grows, the more the population has access to jobs, technology, medical services and so much more.

In our era, our access to technology has led to global travel, rapid communication, astounding efficiencies and unthinkable leisure. Economic growth has led to the improvement of humanity’s quality of life. However, as an economy grows, it feeds upon natural resources and emits dangerous waste, polluting and staining the surface of our earth.

Ecocentric Views:

Ecocentric views would include, depending of the severity and beliefs of the person, the idea that a growing economy is not as important as the preservation of our planet. A majority of Ecocentric views, would balance and take into consideration alternate methods of keeping a growing economy, while preserving the ecological status of Planet Earth.

However, if you stunt the growth of the economy, poverty will begin to rise. And the problem with poverty is the complete disregard towards nature in countries where ‘the survival of the population is more important than the planet’. Thus, a solution would be a slow transition, where every country could ‘hop on’, and benefit equally.

Anthropocentric Views:

Anthropocentric views, would include an economic growth (less extreme on the fossil fuels), while promoting ‘humanised’ solutions. The preservation of people and the human species, through the growth of economy would be more urgent than the preservation of the planet.

Technocentric Views:

Technocentric views would continue the use of Fossil Fuels, as it leads to economic growth, which could lead to new technologies that are able to maintain and ‘clean’ our earth.

Sources:

https://www.elsevier.com/connect/economic-growth-and-sustainability-are-they-mutually-exclusive

http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/BPOKLclleRJvSdml46LraI/Economic-growth-vs-environmental-sustainability.html

https://www.humansandnature.org/sustainability-well-being-and-economic-growth