Parts of the world today have a generally high standard of living while others are very poor. We categorise countries as developed or developing, but it’s not straightforward. Some countries have advanced enough technology to have a space programme while huge numbers of the population endure subsistence living. Will it ever even out? Will all the world ever be classed as developed?
One main obstacle seems to be corruption in government. Many countries that seem poor have had millions of dollars in aid or resources siphoned off so they never reach the majority who need it. It’s said that the volume of food wasted in the developed world would feed the rest of the world so no one need go hungry, if only we could find a way to distribute it.
Would advanced technology solve all the world’s inequality or is that too simplistic? And how long do you think it will take for everyone to have the same advantages?
The author of A Brief History of the Future reckons it will take 180 years:
By 2200 there was no longer any difference between the developed and the developing worlds. Advanced industrialisation had reached all corners of the globe and all nations had access to advanced technology. There were still scattered regions of poverty, but they were isolated and not country specific.
Do you think that future is possible? Science fiction stories feature societies with advanced technologies, but still imagine that there will be people who are poor and disadvantaged. You can’t change human nature, however advanced the technology.
Ann Marie Thomas is the author of four medieval history books, a surprisingly cheerful poetry collection about her 2010 stroke, and the science fiction series Flight of the Kestrel. Book one, Intruders, and book two Alien Secrets, are out now. Follow her at http://eepurl.com/bbOsyz