Divide Between Different Countries and World Regions

¶ … divide between different countries and world regions is due to shifting balances of power. Over the course of the last several centuries, those balances of power have tipped toward the "global north," including North America and Western Europe. Munashinghe (2010) posits that within the near future, and as soon as 2025, the world will have become more multipolar especially as the BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) assert their political and financial dominance. As the shift in the balance of power changes, so too will political and social realities globally.

The emerging trend may be in part due to population changes. BRIC nations and the Global South in general have much higher birth rates than the Global North. As Munasinghe (2010) also points out, the need for collaboration and cooperation on mutual goals, such as aversion of climate change and other natural disasters or on preventing the threat of terrorism, will help create a more unified global force. In the past, divides have been due to systematic exploitation.

The global ethic has changed significantly to the point where exploitation is less normative than it once was. What emerges is an ethic of cooperation and shared values. In the past, European powers have dominated world markets globally via appropriating the natural resources of colonized countries. In the post-colonial landscape, the greatest challenge will be to divest natural resources from corrupt politicians and corrupt corporations and create a more egalitarian system dedicated to social justice worldwide.

My education and future career will hopefully make a mark, however small, in creating a more sustainable future. The most.