Starvation, War, and Access to Capital — Can Capitalism and Ethical People Create a Flywheel to Fix these Problems?
As an entrepreneur, I’ll admit, I’m fairly protected and insulated from the world’s most severe problems, both within the US and globally. Don’t get me wrong, I have access to see them, but I’m usually so ‘busy’ they don’t impact me directly, so I’m not watching.
I’m ashamed to make that statement in a world where everything is accessible…
… but I don’t think I’m alone.
I write this article, because my wife and I were watching the news (something she normally does and I’m very bad about) and I wonder if the ‘Nature of Capitalism’ within an ‘Morally Ethical’ people could produce a flywheel to solve these problems. I believe there will always be rich and poor, but I’m referring to the length in which an individual sits in that situation can be resolved with the above.
- Nature of Capitalism defined as a multiplying force that continues to multiple if left alone
- Morally Ethical defined as an conscientious awareness / thoughtfulness of the interconnected nature of cause and effect on others for actions we take — from the food we eat to the way we live and how we act on our desires
The global complexities of access to capital to prevent starvation even though we produce more food than the world needs are mind boggling.
Ok entrepreneurial & broader community — Let’s start…
Problem — People are dying in their streets globally due to lack of food, and inability to create commerce
Context — Bloomberg, the UNEP and others report that there is enough food produced annually to feed the world 2x over. Let’s assume the data is true even with current global droughts.
Potential Solution — access to capital and commerce
The following article has interesting Q&A context on how commerce works with a country controlled by the Taliban as well as the unilateral control by the US and World bank over Afghanistan’s Central Bank. The GDP of the country is only $20B and $509 per capita with a population of 38.93m people which is shocking to think about.
Especially shocking in comparison to even some of our cities like Raleigh, NC who’s GDP topped $90B in 2020 for a population of 467k people.
#’s wise, there’s plenty of commerce that could be had.
- How does one do commerce with a country controlled by a group that wants to kill the US?
- The US allowed the Afghanistan Central Bank to commerce again (kind of), but how does that money and aid get directly into the hands of the people who need it especially when a country is ruled by a group that still believes women have less rights than men — and therefore prevents a part of it’s population from participating in the nature of capitalism?
I won’t even go into Ukraine and Russia right now, not because I think the topics are any less worthy of attention, but because there has been plenty of recent coverage on that.
I think the world is facing an ethical divide. Those who value control over another vs. those who value decentralization. This gets out of whack from the nature of humans (us) to compare one to another, to be right, and to get ahead.
Centralization vs. Decentralization — I had a very fascinating conversation with one of Incolo’s investors that I believe to be very true.
We are on the brink of a war of centralized control vs. decentralized power that can be cut on in an instant simply by cutting off the distribution pipe that allows decentralization to work — technology + internet + ruling governments that allow the exchanges between monetary instruments.
Think about that…
…ok, now let’s put everything into context.
- what is your ethical guide?
- Can capitalism within the ethical context that everyone should be able to transact with those who can provide a valuable product or service in return be completely open (De-centralized Control)?
- Should there be restrictions on who can commerce with one another? When?
- Would my interaction on Fiverr with a creator who can provide me a graphic I need fund a terrorist group or feed a family?
I believe over time technology will become more widely adopted providing greater transparency to WHOM we are transacting with and TRUE IDENTITIES and what they stand for will be harder to hide (therefore reducing some of the issues with $ flowing into the wrong hands). Global borders will break down because people will be frustrated with CENTRALIZED rule IF it prevents them from interacting and doing business with others they trust will do good work.
…but for now I just want to see food and water flow to those who need it through those BRAVE souls / boots on the ground who are willing to enter into those areas of conflict — who interface day to day with the very people starving, crippled by war, and those who would control them.
Are they any less worthy to have access to the basic needs I believe my family, my kids and their friends and families should have access to? I choose to believe no. Our fellow citizens of Earth just happen to live in a geography with difference circumstances. That doesn’t remove my obligation to help of make me any more worthy because I have currently have access to more than them.
“The idea that some lives matter less is the root of all that is wrong with the world.”
-Paul Farmer
