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[24] Tsunami: “Wealth of Nations”
terminology is often used to mask the social ills befalling
the citizens of particular nations. Even when considering
countries that are wealthy in terms of natural resources,
etc., like the United States, it is important to “take a
closer look” in order to witness the increasing feminization
of poverty, increasing homelessness, etc. OPEC countries
such as Kuwait and Saudia Arabia are wealthy by IMF and World
Bank figues but given that petrol-rich land is in the hands
of a select few, the nation's wealth is unequally distributed
among inhabitants. Furthermore, where a nation's wealth
comes from also plays a role on the well-being of it
citizenry; if its source of wealth has adverse effects on the
environment, say the use of mercury to extract gold or
slash-and-burn land clearing tactics then the nation's wealth
will be in an antagonistic position in relation to the good
of the populous. Terms such as “wealth of nations,” I think,
tend to mask systems of power and oppression by presenting
wealth as belonging to the nation when in fact it belongs to
a select few. |
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