‘Structural Violence’

Can we find genuine peace in a world with inequitable distribution of wealth?

Giru Lee

           In this world of competition, some nations have become extremely wealthy while others are still struggling with poverty and hunger. In the wealthy nations people have problems with overproduction of food and obesity while in the poor nations people are dying of hunger and illness. Even the world organizations designed to help these nations are merely providing mediocre support that never relieves the hungry people fully. What is more serious is the consequence of long poverty and hunger; violence. In order to survive, those people learn robbery and violence. Also, since they have little chance to get proper education, and hence they often become the targets of greedy leaders who want to manipulate people to open wars with other nations. Hence, as long as poverty is widespread among nations, we can never find genuine world peace. Poverty is one of the fundamental problems we must solve in order to achieve world peace.

           Yet, to discuss about poverty is one thing; to solve it is another. While many ingenuous economists and socialists attempted to solve this problem, none has found an innovative solution that can be applied to the whole world. One of the main reasons is that the world is in a highly capitalistic structure. While some of the wealthy nations, especially in Western Europe, have solved poverty problem within their countries by extensive, well-designed welfare systems, no single government exists to solve the poverty problem in the world-wide structure. Although some world organizations attempt to support the poor nations, such organizations have too little power and fund to solve the poverty ultimately.

           Then, is there any solution to resolve the world-wide poverty after all? I believe that the only way to solve it is to consider the world as a bigger nation and try to solve poverty systematically as if a wealthy nation would do with its nation. That is, we must apply extensive welfare system to the world. A strong nation must help weaker nation, and this must be done in a systematic way, just as wealthy people support poor people by welfare tax system.

           The reason why I strongly support a world-wide systematic approach is that poverty is not the kind of issue that can be resolved by asking for voluntary help to wealthy countries. For decades UN and many world-wide organizations have worked to urge monetary help to poor nations from wealthy nations but they have not been successful. This is natural if we acknowledge that the world is in a capitalistic structure in which only the powerful survives. If they are not forced to, the stronger nations would have little motive to help the weaker nations. Only meager help would be provided, and such help can never solve poverty.

           Whether world-wide poverty is an obstacle to peace is not a matter of discussion; it is obvious. How can we say that the world has reached peaceful state when millions of people are dying of hunger and struggling in violent, dangerous countries? Poverty must be regarded as the utmost issue that must be resolved ultimately, and we must take systematic, planned approach to it.