Commentary: Grinding poverty is underlying cause of Egypt crisis
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03 July 2013
Behind the scenes of rage and riot in Egypt lies a great deal of
despair. It’s something that few in power, and even the intervention by
the US overnight to urge all asides to talk, can help fix.
At something around 84 million Egypt is by far the most numerous Arab
nation. The problem is that the population has just put on a growth
spurt again. It is now growing at the rate of around 32 new Egyptian
lives per 1,000. Within the next quarter century Egypt’s population will
be well over 100 million.
In 1952, when Gamal Abdul Nasser seized power, the population was just 20 million.
Many of the new Egyptians are very poor indeed, earning as little as a dollar a day and dependent on government handouts of food, bread especially. The very poor don’t riot – but they are the underlying factor of Egypt’s perennial crisis.
The growing numbers of poor are the unwritten feature of the new instability in countries like Brazil, and Turkey even – though both countries have been deemed entrepreneurial successes by think tanks and international banks.
The rise and fall, shifting, migration and aging of populations is fascinating – but takes up surprisingly little space in the headlines and front page of world news. But it should.
The latest UN World Population Report, out last month, shows global population is growing slightly faster than previous UN predictions.
By 2050 there will be 9.6 billion humans on the planet – up by more than 300 million on previous forecasts.
Most of that growth will be in fragile developing countries – whereas the ‘developed’ or first world population will stick at the present population of 1.3 billion.
Population growth is not a problem in itself. It becomes a problem in the poorest and most fragile nations and communities. A great deal can be done, and is being done, to alleviate global poverty – as the Economist pointed out in a remarkably upbeat article to greet the UN report last month.
New technologies mustn’t be allowed to let the very poorest fall even further behind. The bottom billion poor must not become the bottom billions, plural.
Egypt cannot be expected to fix its bottom millions alone. It should be our responsibility, too.
end quote from:
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/commentary-grinding-poverty-is-underlying-cause-of-egypt-crisis-8685323.html
Overpopulation is a crisis all over the world. Wherever resources do not match the amount of people there are going to be problems. As long as the unemployment rate is 50% for those under 30 without social welfare present there are going to be revolutions and governments falling. It is inevitable. Governments do not exist in a vacuum. But without resources there is nothing they can do. In Egypt's case no matter who is in power the people will be unhappy because resources cannot meet the needs of the people so revolutions likely will continue. There doesn't appear to be a solution the world is going to like. It is possible that only martial law by the Army will keep stability and harmony. But then, the Army would be hated too. So, a long term solution at present doesn't exist.
One likely temporary scenario is that the government of Egypt (which one?) will have a war with Ethiopia over the new Dam on the Nile. Though this would redirect attention from Egypt's real problems, we might see some Egyptian Government do this to distract the people from their real problems, the lack of resources.
repeat partial quote from above:
By 2050 there will be 9.6 billion humans on the planet – up by more than 300 million on previous forecasts.
Most of that growth will be in fragile developing countries – whereas the ‘developed’ or first world population will stick at the present population of 1.3 billion.
end partial quote from above:
So, here we see the future. Developed nations unchanging in population and undeveloped nations becoming ever more unstable. This is a future ripe with governments falling in developing nations at an increasing and alarming rate. When you combine this with Global Climate Change this becomes an ever increasing disaster in the making in the short run. In the long run Global Climate change is going to kill millions and eventually billions of people in the next centuries.
The bad thing about this that they will be killed. The good thing about this is no government is directly to blame for this. The totality of humanity for hundreds of years is to blame. Therefore it can only be seen as an "Act of God" and not be directly blamed upon governments or individuals.
In 1952, when Gamal Abdul Nasser seized power, the population was just 20 million.
Many of the new Egyptians are very poor indeed, earning as little as a dollar a day and dependent on government handouts of food, bread especially. The very poor don’t riot – but they are the underlying factor of Egypt’s perennial crisis.
The growing numbers of poor are the unwritten feature of the new instability in countries like Brazil, and Turkey even – though both countries have been deemed entrepreneurial successes by think tanks and international banks.
The rise and fall, shifting, migration and aging of populations is fascinating – but takes up surprisingly little space in the headlines and front page of world news. But it should.
The latest UN World Population Report, out last month, shows global population is growing slightly faster than previous UN predictions.
By 2050 there will be 9.6 billion humans on the planet – up by more than 300 million on previous forecasts.
Most of that growth will be in fragile developing countries – whereas the ‘developed’ or first world population will stick at the present population of 1.3 billion.
Population growth is not a problem in itself. It becomes a problem in the poorest and most fragile nations and communities. A great deal can be done, and is being done, to alleviate global poverty – as the Economist pointed out in a remarkably upbeat article to greet the UN report last month.
New technologies mustn’t be allowed to let the very poorest fall even further behind. The bottom billion poor must not become the bottom billions, plural.
Egypt cannot be expected to fix its bottom millions alone. It should be our responsibility, too.
end quote from:
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/commentary-grinding-poverty-is-underlying-cause-of-egypt-crisis-8685323.html
Overpopulation is a crisis all over the world. Wherever resources do not match the amount of people there are going to be problems. As long as the unemployment rate is 50% for those under 30 without social welfare present there are going to be revolutions and governments falling. It is inevitable. Governments do not exist in a vacuum. But without resources there is nothing they can do. In Egypt's case no matter who is in power the people will be unhappy because resources cannot meet the needs of the people so revolutions likely will continue. There doesn't appear to be a solution the world is going to like. It is possible that only martial law by the Army will keep stability and harmony. But then, the Army would be hated too. So, a long term solution at present doesn't exist.
One likely temporary scenario is that the government of Egypt (which one?) will have a war with Ethiopia over the new Dam on the Nile. Though this would redirect attention from Egypt's real problems, we might see some Egyptian Government do this to distract the people from their real problems, the lack of resources.
repeat partial quote from above:
By 2050 there will be 9.6 billion humans on the planet – up by more than 300 million on previous forecasts.
Most of that growth will be in fragile developing countries – whereas the ‘developed’ or first world population will stick at the present population of 1.3 billion.
end partial quote from above:
So, here we see the future. Developed nations unchanging in population and undeveloped nations becoming ever more unstable. This is a future ripe with governments falling in developing nations at an increasing and alarming rate. When you combine this with Global Climate Change this becomes an ever increasing disaster in the making in the short run. In the long run Global Climate change is going to kill millions and eventually billions of people in the next centuries.
The bad thing about this that they will be killed. The good thing about this is no government is directly to blame for this. The totality of humanity for hundreds of years is to blame. Therefore it can only be seen as an "Act of God" and not be directly blamed upon governments or individuals.
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