Ranking of humanity's problems

[klaus54]

Rank according to two criteria: 1) Urgency and 2) Net influence within the next two decades.

What brought this to mind is Climate Change, which is the most polarizing scientific/political issue of the day. I've answered the altar call to confess that I'm not an AGW denier. Praise Hansen!!!

Anyway, I didn't mean that crack to distract, so...

Please give your top five or ten most important problems facing cultural.

These can include social, political, demographic, and scientific issues.

[Leonhard]

1) Salvation.

[Leonhard]

As for the next most important thing for humanity as a whole... hmmm, I guess if we could get the poorest two billion humans out of their most abject poverty, which most definitely will involve them getting access to coal power, and electrical infrastructure, that might stabilize areas that are currently war torn and bring down child mortality.

Beyond that as a third place, I'd put climate change, and helping the changes that will eventually stop it.

[klaus54]

As for the next most important thing for humanity as a whole... hmmm, I guess if we could get the poorest two billion humans out of their most abject poverty, which most definitely will involve them getting access to coal power, and electrical infrastructure, that might stabilize areas that are currently war torn and bring down child mortality.

Beyond that as a third place, I'd put climate change, and helping the changes that will eventually stop it.

I like the poverty thing. It's a very simple talking point. Now what's the plan to lift two billion out of poverty? Is the plan culturally dependent? Does it involve population control? How? Does it involve modification of culture -- to what? Euro? This is complicated.

To your second priority -- why is Climate Change #2 instead of #3? Shouldn't poverty come first? After all a person can starve to death in a month and die of thirst in five days, but Climate Change may take its negative effects decades to affect a starving thirsty person's life.

Not trying to start a fire storm, just a discussion...

[Cow Poke]

1) Salvation.

You beat me to it.

[klaus54]

1) Salvation.

Salivation first.

A person needs to be alive to accept Christ.

[jordanriver]

Money.

[Cow Poke]

Money.

...the love of which is the root of all evil.

[Leonhard]

Now what's the plan to lift two billion out of poverty?

Foreign aid, help for them to build the infrastructure they don't have (they shouldn't have to reinvent the wheel), after that development aid (a different beast), banks and funds investing in these places once they're sufficiently wealthy, setting up factories people can work in and get a decent pay. It will be highly contextualized how this will be done. Its much better to as the question, How do we help Congo out of poverty, than the more generalized question. There are various local problems to deal with, in Congo for instance Aids epidemics, and war.

Is the plan culturally dependent?

Very.

Does it involve population control?

No.

Does it involve modification of culture -- to what?

The poorest people in the world live in a state of society akin to the US in the 1850ies. I'm not sure what cultural changes will occur as they move up to the living standards of the 1950ies, but they will be different. Hopefully our culture won't infect them too much, as that's something I'd hate to see. Africa will soon the one of the most Christian parts of the world.

Euro?

The Euro needs to die. Its been nothing but a financial and political nightmare. My country decided not sign up for it, and we've saved 50 billion dollars in not having to participate in the Euro-caused Greek and Irish financial crashes.

This is complicated.

Aye. :nod:

To your second priority -- why is Climate Change #2 instead of #3? Shouldn't poverty come first?

#1 Salvation, #2 Work to end poverty, #3 Climate Change.

After all a person can starve to death in a month and die of thirst in five days, but Climate Change may take its negative effects decades to affect a starving thirsty person's life.

Some estimate that the conservative predictions of climate change will bring down the global gross product by as much as 20%. That's not something we want.

[Leonhard]

Salivation first.

A person needs to be alive to accept Christ.

No one is saying that we shouldn't do both, and Christian missionaries have been nothing but an outreach to the poor most of the time, but of the two salvation is the more important.

[Leonhard]

Salivation.

[klaus54]

Metric tonnes of foreign aid already. More "money bombs"?

Ok.

No population control?

Interesting...

[klaus54]

Money.

Or in the Commie definition, Terlet Paper.

I suppose if you had a dram of economic sense, you would say "wealth".

[jordanriver]

No.
just money-- coin paper trinkets
Just the existence of it.

It drives the other problems.

[shunyadragon]

Problem: Clinging to ancient religious beliefs that led to a divided humanity and violence between religions.

Salvation? Yes, being saved from the consequences of these ancient belief systems.