Thursday, 19 June 2014

Is The United Nations Effective?



When looking at any aspect of the UN, there are always two ways to look at it. The “liberal” view, and the “realist” view. The liberal view showcases the United Nations as being “well functioning international organizations that contribute to the formation of peace” (Kantian project in IR, 2004). While the realist view portrays the UN in the fact that it is of “little help in channelling the perpetual power struggle between states since they cannot change the anarchical structure of the international system” (Rittberger, 2006). The way I see it, regardless of how many projects the UN has been a part of and not solved, they have also been a part of many things that inevitably bring peace to nations and their people. The progress is slow when coming to a success of a nation, but the United Nations shows that “goals are achievable when the right national development strategies and policies are met with political commitment and adequate funding” (un.org). The different aspects that showcase the effectiveness of the United Nations fully are health care, and humanitarian rights. The United Nations stands for peace and justice and these things are leading to that for nations.

When dealing with healthcare, the United Nations works very closely with the World Health Organization (WHO). Since its inception, one of the main targets of the United Nation’s is promoting and protecting good health worldwide. Malaria, women’s and children’s health, tuberculosis, venereal disease, nutrition and environmental sanitation are main focuses both organizations are dealing with. The organizations have been launching “Millennium Development Goals (MGD’s)” and in 2010, the secretary general launched a global effort convening 40 key leaders to define a collective strategy for accelerating progress on women and children’s health.
The Global Strategy has been launched for both women and children now that mobilizes resources to save the lives of more than 16 million women and children. The United Nations has joined many different organizations to help in the aid of many illnesses and ailments. They state under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control”. The United Nations is doing its part in trying to aid developing countries when it comes to health. Health problems like cancer and obesity are on the rise in many countries, while starvation is happening in the others. The UN is making the policies to do what they can, and while progress of improving health is slow, there is progress nonetheless which I feel is the main goal at this time.
Since the United Nations began, one of their main focuses has been humanitarian affairs and assistance. The UN has been relied on since the time of the second world war to respond to natural and man made disasters by the international community. They are the major provider of “emergency relief and long term assistance, a catalyst for action by governments and relief agencies, and an advocate on behalf of people struck by emergencies”(un.org). Civil wars have caused much unrest to the majority of the world in the past few decades and have been cause to many emergency situations.  “In 1999 alone, millions were uprooted from their homes by war - 1.2 million in Angola, 850,000 in Kosovo, 750,000 in Ethiopia and Eritrea, 550,000 in East Timor, 200,000 in Chechnya and countless more in other conflicts around the world” (un.org).
Natural disasters including floods, droughts and earthquakes exceed economic losses by more than $90 billion in one year.  More than 90 per cent of all disaster victims live in developing countries “a striking indicator of the degree to which poverty, population pressures and environmental degradation exacerbate suffering and destruction” (un.org). When dealing with both cases of humanitarian affairs, the United Nations is sought out on a few fronts that  make their efforts effective. One,” it has sought to bring immediate relief to the victims, primarily through its operational agencies; on the other hand, it has sought more effective strategies to prevent emergencies from arising in the first place” (un.org). When dealing with national disasters, the range of outcomes could be endless and the United Nations is ready by seeking prevention for man made disasters, addressing man made causes and assisting in aid when natural disasters do occur. The United Nations has proven to be most effective when dealing with humanitarian rights by providing international protection for more than 22 million people annually. Regardless of the disaster they face, the programs and people are ready to be at the forefront of the problem and fight it head on to help the citizens of the world. A very effective trait I believe.   

The problems inevitably will arise, whether natural or man made, and by the efforts of the United Nations there to support people with the aid of food, water, makeshift shelters and health care it is proving to be very effective regardless of how long some areas may take. More of a positive outcome is coming out of these efforts by the United Nations being involved, and I feel that it is very effective to the international community.  

For your thoughtful enjoyment - AFTER you're done

When you are done posting your comments, you can watch these videos.

1. I really like Upworthy.  They show some great, feel good, make you think type videos that aren’t as heavy handed as TED Talks (although I love those too).

This one I just found Tuesday night.  It is great for a couple reasons.  I like the feel good message it has.  I also like that it demonstrates how impactful putting a new spin on something can be. Click on the link. I couldn't find the same video on youtube, so I couldn't embed the video.


2. You may have seen this one…  And whether you have or haven’t seen it, you may be prejudiced against the speaker (I don’t know if Ashton Kucher’s still ‘cool’).  I suggest skipping to 1:30 when he actually gets to start talking without the fan screaming stuff.



3.  And interesting take on what education is about.  I like what this guy says.  He is a little full of himself, but I agree with much of his rant.  What do you think?



4.  Michael Jordan (hugely successful) about failure:




5.  Ok, this next one I’ve been thinking about for a while… It feels a little creepy being a teacher and sharing this with you, but I think it is such an important message I need to share it.  Especially as some of you go away to school and live on your own and feel ‘adult.’  I’m sharing one of Laci Green’s videos, but I strongly suggest that you take the time to watch others by her as well.  And  share them with your friends.  These are important messages.



Feel free to comment on any of these to create conversation.  But these don't count as your blog comments.


I hope you have a great summer! Be safe!

Mrs. Unger

Globalization- The Upcoming Downfall?


By definition, globalization is is the process of international integration arising from the interchange of world views, products, ideas, and other aspects of culture. It is the process in which the many countries of the world are being united by- as well as destroyed. Globalization may just be the downfall of the economy within the Western world. A monumental connection was formed in the 1980's between many countries of the world, and this created a close business in trade of goods, services, money, technology and information. This newfound marvel easily caught the attention of economists everywhere, and they continue to this day to rave about its unbelievable usefulness. What they are ignoring, it seems, are the many negative affects that globalization is having on the world's economy. Globalization negatively affects the world economy because it creates many income, employment and inequality issues, as well as brings economies too close in both developed and still-developing countries. These issues can be examined through both developed and still-developing countries' employment and income gaps, as well as the domino effect a financial crisis in one country will have on its neighbors.
At the starting point, most who were highly in favour of globalization were those located in developed countries. They were convinced that this sensation would destroy class divide due to a massive amount of job opportunities that just weren't present before. Though these job opportunities were, in fact, present, they weren't the beautiful dream everyone thought they would be. The new jobs that were created were those that were skill-oriented, meaning the wages of non-educated workers had to be cut. According to the Economic Policy Institute in 2011, studies have found that there are less job opportunities for non-college educated people, because most of the labour intensive jobs have been outsourced to developing countries because they can pay less for manufacturing and make a larger profit (EPI, 2013). Globalization largely concentrates on its need for educated workers, creating an even larger gap between the rich and the poor. This is especially prevalent in the United States, as EPI Research and Policy Director Josh Bivens found. In 2011, he stated that the “international trade depressed wages for non-college educated workers by 5.5 percent, costing the average worker $1,800," (EPI, 2013). Though it may initially seem like a brilliant idea to relocate jobs elsewhere for a faster and quicker profit, many workers located in the West are losing money. The concept of 'outsourcing' these jobs in the United States hurts the economies of not only them, but many other Western nation economies as globalization has brought all so close together. The composition of labour has also been greatly affected as jobs are now divided into two main categories; productive and overhead. Many enterprises have a lot more disposable money, causing them to tend to employ more overhead jobs and outsource the productive sector (Hoefle, 2009). To the companies, this idea seems favourable but is not to the average Western worker. Doing this, these companies diminish the assortment of employment available, especially to those lacking a degree or diploma. Workers in developed nations do not seem to gain much regarding the employment that globalization has to offer, making it a dangerous gamble for them to throw themselves into.
Contrary to the thoughts of those in support of international globalization, developing countries are receiving little to no benefit in regards to better employment. Globalization complicates the equality within the developing nations. The world is moving towards the glory of free trade and sharing information, causing many of the developing nations to encounter difficulty in keeping up with this new form of economics. This creates a void in trade because many of the developed countries are highly centered on the concept of high-skill industries, something in which developing countries do not have the money for (Pologeorgis, 2012). This makes it hard to compete with them, and the developing countries begin to fall even further behind. The university professor, Dr. Nicolas Pologeorgis, stated in 2012 that “although free trade increases opportunities for international trade, it also increases the risk of failure for smaller companies that cannot compete globally," (Pologeorgis, 2012). What he means by this is that the idea of a highly globalized world is a bad one as it creates a large trade gap between developing countries and developed countries because their weak economy just can't compete. The blame for this gap can be explained by the fact that developing countries just don't have the resources they would need to even be a contender against the developed countries in a digital age such as this. Only countries such as Canada or the United States were strong enough economically to have a go at taking on new technology, whereas the developing countries were essentially left in their dust. The developing world was still having enough difficulty simply trying to stabilize their economy in the late 20th century, there was no way they could possibly take on a task as extreme as a technological advancement. The United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics researcher, Deepak Nayyar, discovered in 2009 that “[t]he ratio of GDP per capita in the 20 richest countries to GDP per capita in the 20 poorest countries of the world rose from 54:1 during 1960–62 to 121:1 during 2000–02,” (Nayyar, 35). This only builds even more overwhelming proof that an income gap is being forged between developed and developing nations because of globalization.
Finally, globalization is causing individual countries to become too vulnerable to an economical downfall due to their dependence on one another. The economies of countries that once had separate and unique belief systems are now being coerced together, meaning the currency between them must now span larger and faces an even bigger chance to collapse. On top of this increased risk, a financial crash between such a large expanse of different countries would cause a global economic crisis. This is already evident through the massive amounts of economic failure we see written in the news on an almost constant basis between countries sharing the same currency. Support for this idea comes from Joseph M. Grieco of Duke University, as he states “the financial crisis contagion in 1994-1995, when the Mexican peso collapsed, was followed by reductions in external capital flows to a number of Latin American countries, for example, Argentina's GDP contracted by 5 percent during 1995,” (Grieco, 2000). His statement indicates that the closeness progressing between countries meant to be separate is rising to such a dangerous level that a domino effect in ones' downfall would cause an international catastrophe. This perception is relatively new and foreign to the minds of economists because this is the first time in history that nations have been so close in an economic way. Issues with employment is also provoked within countries because of the impact of trade and how much everyone now depends on one another. Grieco also found that “Argentina’s unemployment in the wake of the Mexican financial crisis increased from about 11% in 1994 to almost 18% in 1995 and 1996,” showing the reliance separate countries now have on eachother (Grieco, 2000). Altogether, this is proof that globalization is bringing economies too closely dependent on one another and causing them to be in a more vulnerable place. The countries become more susceptible to an economic collapse, and both their employment and currency would suffer because of globalization.
In conclusion, the concept of globalization quite obviously has more negative aspects than positive within itself, causing one to question why economists so strongly promote the idea. Globalization complicates income and employment in both developed and developing nations, as well as making countries more vulnerable than ever seen before in history. The danger that world globalization puts the Western world in begs the question; will this be how it all falls once more, and how soon?

Works Cited:

"Chart 2." Globalization 101. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 June 2014. 
     <http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/survey/so/2007/RES1010A-2.gif>. 
EPI. "Trade and Globalization." Economic Policy Institute. N.p., 2013. Web. 18 
     June 2014. <http://www.epi.org/research/trade-and-globalization/>. 
"Global inequality and poverty in perspectives of geography." Emerald Insight. 
     N.p., 2007. Web. 18 June 2014. <http://images.sodahead.com/polls/0/0/3/9/ 
     2/7/6/2/3/215164423_World_trade_map.png>. 
Globalization Timeline: 1940-2005. N.p.: n.p., n.d. WNCCUMW. Web. 18 June 2014. 
     <http://www.wnccumw.org/PDF%20&%20Word%20Files/ 
     Globalization%20Timeline.pdf>. 
Grieco, Joseph M. "Chapter 6 of State Power and World Markets." Economic 
     Globalization and Its Discontents. N.p., 2000. Web. 18 June 2014. 
     <http://people.duke.edu/~pfeaver/grieco_reading.chapter6.htm>.
Hoefle, John. "Obama Administration Pushes Corporatist Globalization." 
     Executive Intelligence Review. N.p., 5 June 2009. Web. 18 June 2014. 
     <http://www.larouchepub.com/other/2009/ 
     3622obama_corprtst_globzation.html>. 
Nayyer, Deepak, ed. Governing Globalization: Issues and Institutions. N.p., 
     2002. Web. 18 June 2014. <http://www.rrojasdatabank.info/unupb5.pdf>. 
Pologeorgis, Nicolas. "How Globalization Affects Developed Countries." 
     Invesopedia. N.p., 22 Apr. 2012. Web. 18 June 2014. 
     <http://www.investopedia.com/articles/economics/10/ 
     globalization-developed-countries.asp>. 
Shankar, Umang. "Globalization." The Viewspaper. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 June 2014. 
     <http://www.dagospia.com/img/foto/06-2012/globalization-174700.jpg>. 
Ullmann, Connor. "Chart 2." Connor Ullmann. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 June 2014. 
     <http://leedsonfinance.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/2-copy.jpg>. 


Wednesday, 18 June 2014

Does the 21st Century need Feminism?

If women have been granted equality, do we still need feminism?

For centuries, women have been struggling and fighting to live and work in a society where equality exists. Feminism has been an ongoing and ever changing movement throughout the western world, and with strong determination women were granted the right to vote, and later on with the composition of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the right to work and earn their own living. Today, feminism fights for goals of a much more personal nature, the right to feel safe as a woman in any environment,the freedom to report sexual abuse and receive support,and to diminish rape culture in the western world.

First wave feminism was almost solely based on suffrage, women rallying for the right to vote. Beginning in the early 19th Century, women became concerned with their legal rights(right to a will etc.) and their involvement in politics. This first wave of feminism was formally put into motion at the Seneca Falls Convention of 1948. 300 men and women rallied and showed support for the cause of equality for women (Rampton 2008.) These rallies continued for decades and eventually jump started the examination between the differences between women and men. Many claimed that women were morally superior to men, so their presence in politics would improve public behaviour and the validity of the political process (Rampton 2008.) Women who were of British descent with family members serving overseas in WWI, were granted the right to vote in 1917 with the introduction of the Wartime Elections Act, and furthermore in 1918 Prime Minister Robert Borden introduced a bill establishing equal suffrage for all women. 



The 1960s and 70s brought the beginning of what would be known as the second wave of the women's movement. The 1960s housed a very bleak and cookie cutter lifestyle for North American women. It was a societal expectation that women were married in their early twenties, started a family and devoted the remainder of their lives to home-making. Although women had been granted the right to vote, they were still imprisoned by their overall lack of personal rights. Women were legally subject to their husbands via "Head-Master Laws"(Civic Education 2014), they had no legal right to any of their husbands earnings, and their husbands were in complete control of their possessions and the money they were granted to spend on supporting their family.

Working women of this era were limited to stereotypical jobs: secretary, nurse, teacher, etc... Professional programs were highly unwelcoming to women in pursuit of the career of their choice, and one medical school dean was quoted saying, "Hell yes we have a quota.. We do keep women out, when we can. We don't want them here-"(Gail 2009.) It was commonplace for working women to be paid substantially lower wages than their male counterparts and they were furthermore denied the opportunity to advance within their workplace. College-educated women of this time period felt unfulfilled by their lifestyle and trapped by societal ideals. 



Second wave feminism was focused on diminishing workplace inequality, the denial of better jobs and unequal wages, through the enforcement of anti-discrimination laws. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was introduced in the 1960s, but when it more so focused on racial discrimination within the workplace(Conger 2009), feminists rooting for gender equality were left in the dust. With the failure of the EEOC (from a feminist point of view) many feminist based organizations, including NOW (National Organization for Women), began rallying for many individualized causes. 

Although second wave feminism was deemed a failure by many historians, and it was followed by the third wave, it held a few victories under it's belt. 1972 marked the establishment of the first rape crisis line in the United States, and through seemingly endless petition the Supreme Court legalized abortion in the United States. 


The third wave of feminism asserted itself in the mid-1990s, providing a way in which to educate society on the many experiences young women face in everyday life. Being the grown children of the second wave movement, these activists were concerned in changing the way older generations, men and the media viewed their age group. Third wave feminism whole heartedly supported the concept of "Universal Womanhood,"(Jacob 2006), that women were welcome to dress, act, work,and make themselves up in any way they pleased and the way industry portrayed and sexualized women was no longer accepted.The third wave movement promoted women defining beauty for themselves, not for the ideals of the sexist patriarchy that dominates most industries. Promoting choice among all aspects of life, would hopefully destroy the idea of the perfect women, or what it really meant to be feminine.   

Furthermore this wave opened up feminism to women of all identities, it was not discriminant towards race, class, sexuality, or gender identity (Walker 1992). It was widely argued that the first two waves of feminism were only inclusive to white, upper-middle class women. I can believe this to be true as historically, minority rights more often then not come second to those of the Caucasian,English speaking majority. 

This still ongoing movement, has attempted to tackle and change the societal outlook of many serious topics and social issues such as reproductive rights, rape and victim shaming, derogatory terms, and glass ceilings.

In an attempt to raise awareness of the disturbingly high likelihood of sexual abuse and in turn the shaming and neglect in which many victims receive from their peers, their family, and law enforcement and fuelled by an ignorant comment by a Toronto Police officer,"women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized,"(Sanguinetti 2011), feminist groups all over North America developed the SlutWalk. The first official SlutWalk was held in Toronto on April 3rd, 2011, with the hopes to prove that sexual abuse can happen to anyone and such acts are non-discriminant.
 
(SlutWalk 2011)

Rape Culture:  concept that links rape and sexual violence to the culture of a society,and in which prevalent attitudes and practices normalize, excuse, tolerate, and even condone rape.(Flintoft 2001)

Rape Culture towards women has proven to be a serious social issue all over the western world. Women all around the world are constantly blamed, shamed and doubted for their abuses, causing this to become an even larger issue in the feminist community. Many argue that a woman's rights to her own body can be taken away simply because a man bought her dinner, or spent any sum of money on her (Shea 2013). 

(Shea 2013)

For the last 200 years, Feminism has fought for women to be granted the same or equivalent rights as men in every aspect of western society, and to this day feminism fights for women's rights through the abolishment of rape culture. All people have the right to feel safe walking down the street, and all people have the right to wear what they please without having to worry about being violated because someone "couldn't control themselves." So why are women commonly reduced to cat-calling on the streets beginning as young as ten years old? Why are young girls taught not to dress a certain way and to watch their drinks at social events? The real issue is the people reducing them to their clothing and slipping drugs into their drinks... The issue lies in the blind excuses like "Boys will be Boys". 

Social Media has opened many gateways for feminist movements to take a stand without a physical gathering in a public place. The #YesAllWomen movement on Twitter has allowed for many feminist voices, all over the world, to share their opinion on Women's rights or lack thereof and raise a little bit of awareness to the many struggles women of all ages face in western society. It has allowed for women to show the struggles and fears they encounter on a daily bases, that many men would never even consider to be a concern. Furthermore, the subjection women still face to this day based on products made for both adults and children; the expectation that little girls like flowers and pink, and science-based activities aren't in their set of interests(Nguyen 2014).
 
(Nguyen 2014)

 Third Wave Feminism attempts to educate western society on what it feels like to be a woman in the 21st century, and in turn hopes to one day change what it feels like. With every issue that the west has ever faced one of the greatest steps to words diminishing the problem is education of the masses. With the global understanding that women want to be treated as men's equal and not as sexual objects, as is their right, soon the sexualization of women in society could  eventually be abolished. Stereotypes, discrimination, and abuse towards women are a direct correlation of how patriarchal western society perceives women. 


The 21st Century needs feminism because in 2014 women are still scared to walk to their car alone, and girls are still being taught to protect their drinks and themselves when socializing with men. The 21st century needs feminism because for every $1.00 a male CEO makes, his female counterpart makes $0.74 (Government of Canada 2012).

Many would argue that feminism isn't necessary because women have already reached equality with men in most aspects of society, I think that it's safe to say that these people are wrong. Until equality truly exists in Western Society, it is my belief that feminism and third wave feminist movements will have great impact in making the changes necessary to reach legitimate equality; and furthermore, feminism will continue to educate all people of western society on the struggles that women living in the 21st century face. As long as there is a difference between how society perceives, treats, and values men and women, feminism in the west will exist. 

Until women live with the same security within their society that men experience already, and until women are fully appreciated an seen as equals by the men of western society, feminism will thrive to empower women and educate men. 

So, do we still need feminism?

Absolutely. 




Works Cited
Allen, Kim, Alana Wingfoot, and Krista Jacob. “Analyzing Third Wave Feminism.” The Feminist Ezine. Lillith Gallery, 1998. Web. 18 June 2014. <http://www.feministezine.com/feminist/historical/Third-Wave-Feminism.html>.
Conger, Cristen. “How Feminism Works.” How Stuff Works. HowStuffWorks, 17 Feb. 2009. Web. 18 June 2014. <http://people.howstuffworks.com/feminism4.htm>.
Nguyen, Julie. “#YesAllWomen: Misogyny is not just an issue of women.” The Daily Cougar. University of Houston, 18 June 2014. Web. 18 June 2014. <http://thedailycougar.com/2014/06/18/yesallwomen-misogyny-just-issue-women/>.
“THE 1960S-70S AMERICAN FEMINIST MOVEMENT: BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS FOR WOMEN.” Taavanna. E-Collaborative for Civic Education, 2014. Web. 18 June 2014. <https://tavaana.org/en/content/1960s-70s-american-feminist-movement-breaking-down-barriers-women>.
Rampton, Martha. “The Three Waves of Feminism.” Magazine of Pacific University. Pacific University, 2008. Web. 18 June 2014. <http://www.pacificu.edu/magazine_archives/2008/fall/echoes/feminism.cfm>.
Shea, Lisa. “When is Rape OK?” Lisa Shea. Minerva Web Works, 2013. Web. 18 June 2014. <http://www.lisashea.com/lisabase/womensissues/whenisrapeok/>.
“SlutWalk : WHY.” SlutWalk Toronto. WordPress, 2011. Web. 18 June 2014. <http://www.slutwalktoronto.com/>.
“Third Wave Feminism.” Encyclopaedia Britannica Profiles. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2014. Web. 18 June 2014. <http://www.britannica.com/women/article-216008>.
Walker, Rebecca. “Third Wave Feminism.” Rebecca Walker. Rebecca Walker, 1992. Web. 18 June 2014. <http://www.rebeccawalker.com/third-wave-continued>. E-Publication of her 1992 Essay, Third Wave Feminism
West, Thomas. “The History of Second Wave Feminism.” The History of Second Wave Feminism. N.p., 2011. Web. 18 June 2014. <https://suite.io/thomas-west/3mg72cs>.

Volunteer Tourism by Melissa H


Volunteer Tourism:
The Revival of Colonialist Thought
We have come to learn from history that our efforts, however assured we are of their moral justification, may not always be honorable; such is the case with colonialism. The effects of colonialism on third world nations have long been debated, and efforts to revert such effects may be severely impeding current and future development within third world nations: a prime example being volunteer tourism. Volunteer tourism provides volunteers with a sense of entitlement and belief that it is their moral obligation to aid people in third world countries with their development; beliefs epitomic of colonialism. And these beliefs only further hindrance development in said countries, as they are merely band aid solutions: solutions which cannot be sustained in the long term and make the people of these countries dependent upon Western aid. Furthermore, volunteer tourism provides volunteers with the misguided notion that they are empowering the people of these countries, a belief analogous of colonialism, when in fact they are depriving them of opportunities where they may learn to empower themselves and are creating unsustainable institutions, thus furthering impeding future long-term development. Finally, volunteer tourism exploits victims of poverty and exacerbates conditions of poverty and inequality in already fragile countries, thus only further impeding present and future development. Ultimately volunteer tourism revives colonial thought by perpetuating the ideological assumption of Western superiority throughout third world nations, thereby thwarting present and future development in third world nations.
Colonialism is defined as “a practice of domination”, driven by imperialism, “which involves the subjugation of one people to another” (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2006). The consequences of colonialism on third world nations have long been apparent, and colonialism may thus serve as the principal origin in the severe development differential between the west and the rest. Additionally, colonialism and the impact it had on the development of third world nations, may serve as a predictor of the potentially devastating effects volunteer tourism may have on the development of third world nations, as a result of it’s deep-seated colonialist nature.
(Caricature about Africa's Colonization)

                            

People like to stand on morally high ground and convince themselves that what they are doing is helping people, and that they are righteous in doing so, but such assumptions are erroneous; this is the case with volunteer tourism. Volunteer tourism is motivated by the belief that it is the west’s moral obligation to stand on an international stage and be seen as doing something, and as such provides its participants with the feeling of moral superiority. This belief system is derivative of colonialism; as the colonists believed it was their “moral duty and/or obligation” to “educate and rehabilitate” the colonized as they were “unable to manage and run itself properly, and thus needed the wisdom and expertise of the colonizer” (bachelor and master, 2014). Both colonizers and volunteer tourists maintain the same fundamental belief system and justification for their actions, with development being “portrayed as conscientious western intervention to save the poor and powerless” (Sutcliffe, 2012). Ergo, just as the colonizers were under the ideological assumption that their ideals were superior to those of the colonized, volunteer tourists are also under the ideological assumption that their western ideals are superior to those living in third world countries. And just as the colonizers perpetuated their ideological assumption of European white superiority in their actions throughout the nation, volunteer tourists perpetuate their ideological assumption of western superiority with their efforts throughout the third world nations, thus effectively reviving colonialist thought. Carlos Palacio’s, author of the “Journal of Sustainable Tourism”, illustrates how volunteer tourism resembles modern day colonialism when he states, “the Western intention of helping underlying the development aid goal is humanitarian as much as it is colonialist” (Palacio’s, 2010). Palacio’s statement accentuates how volunteer tourism is the revival of colonialist thought. Similarly, Rohan Lea Stitch, PhD in communications and culture, emphasizes the ignorance associated with the idea amongst volunteer tourists, which evolved from colonialists, when she declares, “white people cannot rely on their good intentions in order to know how their discourse affects others” (Rohan, 2012). This statement demonstrates how the ignorance of the ideological assumption of Western superiority amongst volunteer tourists often worsens conditions of the people they are trying to help. And thus the belief that it is the westerner’s “moral obligation” to help, only further threatens development in third world countries, just as the same belief that colonialists maintained thwarted development in these nations, which ultimately resulted in the development differential from western countries to third world countries. Therefore Rohan’s statement reinforces how volunteer tourism is the revival of colonialist thought.
(Picture depicting colonialist roots of Western Superiority Complex)
        
            

 Moreover, volunteer tourism aid merely provides Band-Aid solutions that cannot be sustained in the long term as the people of these nations become dependent upon Western aid. Therefore this assistance is only impeding further development, as they are not learning to become self-sufficient but rather learning to become dependent on the assumption that people will always be there to assist and solve their problems for them. Rohan Stritch emphasizes this point when she states, “volunteer tourism results in a curtailment of self-sufficiency in communities” (Stritch, 2012). In essence, volunteer tourism revives colonial thought by perpetuating the ideological assumption of Western superiority throughout third world nations, just as the colonizers perpetuated the ideological assumption of white European superiority amongst the colonized. And as a result, volunteer tourism thwarts present and future development in third world nations by making the people of these countries depended upon western aid, just as the colonizers made the colonized dependent upon Western subjugation.
One of the most publicized goals of volunteer tourists is to empower the people of third world nations; yet such goals only further harm the citizens of said nations by depriving them the opportunity of learning to empower themselves. For example, consider an organization that is building a school for a village using volunteer tourists. By building a school to empower the citizens of village through education, you are depriving them of the opportunity of empowering themselves, in a more long-term manner that allows them to gain self-sufficiency. Not to mention once that school is built, how are the citizens supposed to receive an education without teachers, or wages to support those teachers? How are the families supposed to generate enough income that they are able to spare a child by sending them to school? How are the graduates supposed to find employment in an unstable country with the majority of jobs being unskilled manual labor? It is not realistic, and it deprives the citizens of these countries the opportunities to learn to thrive and empower themselves on their own. This is another constituent of colonial thought; that the people in these countries are unable to empower themselves, and evolve on their own; hence it is “white man’s” responsibility to undergo this task. The only difference being that “white man” now translates to “westerner”.
(empty classroom exemplifying ignorant nature of western ideologies of empowerment)


 After the scramble for Africa, European colonies dominated 90 percent of African territory, and sought to “enlighten” and “lift the benighted natives out of their backward ways” through the acculturation and education of the African peoples (African Age, 2002). Although it does not specifically state motives of “empowerment”, the notion of the natives being “benighted” implies a sense of moral and intellectual ignorance and thus a lack of opportunity to empower themselves. Just as the colonialists perpetuated ideological assumptions of the superiority of European imperialist thought, volunteer tourists perpetuate the ideological assumption of the superiority of western thought by assuming people in third world nations are incapable of empowerment, and development on their own. And it is again implied that because volunteer tourists believe that the people of third world nations are incapable of development and empowerment on their own, it is a direct result of the ideologies and beliefs that the people of these countries maintain, therefore reinforcing how volunteer tourism perpetuates the ideological assumption of the superiority of western thought: and thus acts as an agent of reviving colonialist thought. And history may serve as an example in how the perpetuation of such deluded notions of superiority onto another nation may severely impede present and future development, as demonstrated with colonialism.  
In order for long-term development to be successful and sustainable, it must originate from the grass root level. A prime example of this being Eastern and Southern Asia, where most of the recent success in the world economy is happening, not as a result of some deluded, arrogant volunteer’s plan to end poverty, but for “homegrown reasons”. William Easterly, American economist specializing in economic growth and foreign aid, believes that this is because “ those who know the problems will be best able to resolve them” (The Rotarian, 2014). Volunteer tourists insist on “the perpetuation of Westerners‘ uncontested involvement in implementing the “correct” course of development overseas” (Stritch, 2012), which is colonialist in nature. This arrogant belief that “our way is the right way” and that “they can’t do anything without our help” only further validates this ideological assumption of western superiority that volunteer tourists perpetuate. And how such an assumption is analogous to that of colonialism. In a research study conducted by Rohan Stritch, she interview locals in Uganda and India, as to their opinions of volunteer tourists and found that “locals did not appear to perceive the programs as significantly empowering their lives, as the romanticizing perspective of volunteer travel indicates” (Stritch, 2012). Therefore, it is not to presumptuous to say that these misguided notions of “empowering people” perpetuate a not to distant colonial thought on the basis of western superiority. It may seem a cruel approach, but it has been suggested that if we are to leave third world nations alone, and allow them to be self-reliant, they will thrive and develop. For if we keep forcing our methods and ideals onto these countries, history serves as an example to demonstrate that we are impeding any hope of long-term future development.
(development projects initiated by community)
                        


The conditions of poverty and inequality in third world countries are deplorable, but then again that is a constituent of what defines a third world nation. So why would we seek to exacerbate these already horrendous conditions? This is because, despite evidence that such efforts are not working, these volunteers are under the impression that these countries need their help: and are thus effectively reviving colonialist thought by perpetuating the idea of the superiority of western ideology. Volunteer tourism “tends to reproduce the same global patterns of inequality and poverty, leaving intact- if not reinforcing- the dominant position of the North” (Palacio’s, 2010). Note that “North” in this context is referring to developed countries. Rohan Stritch (2012) further reinforces the futility and destructiveness on development when she states, “volunteer tourism has not only failed in its undertakings of development, but is inherently flawed and has actually perpetuated poverty in many instances”. It is then reasonable to say that, volunteer tourism is in fact doing more harm than good, and it is this colonialist viewpoint that is justifying their actions. Richardo Stanton Salazar, PhD and professor of sociology at the University of Southern Carolina, emphasizes volunteer tourisms colonialist nature when he affirms, “The consequences volunteer tourist colonialism are no less deep-seated or penetrating than the more familiar economic and political expression of colonialism” (Stritch, 2012). Ultimately volunteer tourism exacerbates already fragile conditions in third world nations by perpetuating the ideological assumption of western superiority in their actions and thus effectively revives colonialist thought.
In summation, volunteer tourism is in fact impeding current and future development as a result of its colonialist nature. It provides the volunteers with a sense of entitlement and moral obligation, beliefs derivative of colonialism, which are making these countries dependent upon western aid, effectively inhibiting self-sufficiency. Moreover, it provides its participants with the misguided notion that they are empowering the people of these countries, when in fact they are depriving them of the opportunity to empower themselves and develop their own institutions, thus thwarting future development. Finally, volunteer tourism exacerbates the fragility of third world nations, thereby preventing future development and reverting current levels of development. Ultimately, volunteer tourism revives colonial thought by perpetuating the ideological assumption of Western superiority throughout third world nations, thereby thwarting present and future development in third world nations. History goes to show the severity of the destructiveness of colonialist thought and this serves as a warning of the potentially devastating effects on third world nations if volunteer tourism is to persist. In summation, “historicized imperial relations shape the world and our subjectivities, so that if we do not understand how we are implicated in the perpetuation of global domination, we are bound to help reproduce it” (Stritch, 2012).




References:

Colonial and Post Colonial Theory. (2014). Retrieved from Bachelor and Master
     website: http://www.bachelorandmaster.com/criticaltheories/
     about-colonial-postcolonial-theory.html
Colonialism. (2006, May 9). Retrieved June 18, 2014, from Stanford Encyclopedia
     of Philosophy website: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/colonialism/
The Colonization of Africa. (2002). Retrieved June 15, 2014, from African Age
     website: http://exhibitions.nypl.org/africanaage/
     essay-colonization-of-africa.html
Palacios, C. M. (2010). Volunteer tourism, development and education in a
     postcolonial world: conceiving global connections beyond aid. Journal of
     Sustainable Tourism.
Reid-Henry, S. (2012, October 22). Alamy [Cartoon]. Retrieved June 18, 2014,
     from The Guardian website: http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/
     2012/oct/22/resource-extraction-colonialism-legacy-poor-countries
Roots of Western superiority complex [Photograph]. (2010, September 4).
     Retrieved from http://lubpak.com/archives/22487
Rotarian Conversation: William Easterly. (2014, May). Retrieved June 13, 2014,
     from The Rotarian website: http://therotarianmagazine.com/
     the-rotarian-conversation-william-easterly/
Stritch, R. L. (2012). Be Sugar in Milk: Local Perspectives on Volunteer Tourism
     in India and Uganda (Unpublished master's thesis). Royal Roads University,
     Colwood, British Columbia.
Sutcliffe, J. (2012, October 12). A Critical Perspective on Volunteer Tourism
     and Development. Retrieved June 15, 2014, from E-International Relations
     website: http://www.e-ir.info/2012/10/04/
     international-citizen-service-a-critical-perspective-on-volunteer-tourism-and-dev
     elopment/

Western World - Globalizarion

An Influential Western World:
The Repercussions of Globalization


With the advances of political affairs and the constantly growing ability to share perceptions, theories and views between nations, globalization has clearly become one of the largest and most essential concerns, as it is yet to be fully utilized by mankind. With the assumption the mankind’s growth with regards to global affairs remains at the same rate, it is a relatively secure assumption that globalization will, in the near future crumble, and become nothing more than an optimistic idea. This assumption is based on the worldwide events of today’s generation, and the seemingly growing rate of international conflicts and disasters. Such conflicts and disasters include the both political and militaristic clash between Russia and Ukraine; a quarrel that has drawn the attention of the entire world, and has thusly warranted the interference of other countries including the United States of America. "’It is up to Russia to act responsibly and show itself once again to be willing to abide by international norms and...if it fails to do so, there will be some costs.’" (Barack Obama - 2014). This example only enforces the theory that globalization will at some point crumble, as international relations only deter due to conflicts erected by selfishness - a trait engraved in human nature since the beginning of recorded history. Therefore, to be ‘blunt’,  it is almost inevitable that mankind’s sense of globalization will be obliterated through the test of time, due to our essential need for self acquisition and wealth resulting in the decay of international relations.


The following includes a link which directs you to an interview regarding the forethoughts of Political Affairs and Globalization.
Above is the logo for the United Nations - A
leader in terms of attempted globalization.

Works Cited


VOAnews.com. Voice of America Team, n.d. Web. 16 June 2014. <http://www.voanews.com/content/russia-g8-snub-counterproductive/1878525.html>
Youtube. Youtube Team, n.d. Web. 16 June 2014.
Wikipedia. Wikipedia Team, n.d. Web. 16 June 2014.


By : Sierra Canali