We are Civilized!

[Mister Agenda]

AFAIK, this 2 dollars a day is quite random, and even today it varies on all countries as it has to be adjusted on PPP basis.
Can we know how this 2 dollars a day is calculated as the baseline for poverty?

And how did the 2 dollars served as a yardstick for poverty 200 years ago in, say, Indonesia?

Wikipedia has a good article on poverty that may be helpful to you.

 

[SFatima]

What is the relation of poverty to happiness?

People were more happy being happy content farmers than they are now being looked as poor farmers who don't have a lifestyle which is all about electronics and consumerism.

And Lol savery has ended? what is prostitution? Just because it is legal now doesn't mean it is not cruel anymore! And by the way I find the lifestyle of today pretty much enslaved to the govt. It is just that its done in a way that we have accepted it as Liberation, which in fact it is not. Every person is a slave of the system, and that is the essence of modern civilization, be so consumed in the struggle for survival, maintenance of your fake lifestyle based on hand picked advertising, that you neither have a stable family, nor some peace of mind. Abandoned children, children being put up for adoption because the parents cant support them, unwanted babies and etc, abusive parents and disrespectful kids, that is the true face of the modern day civilization

Over 400,000,000 abandoned children live on their own on the streets of hundreds of cities around the world. They subsist hand to mouth. They struggle to just survive the day.

Authorities estimate that child pornography is a $20 billion a year industry; too many abandoned children end up as victims of this deviant activity.

UNICEF estimates that nearly 1,000,000 children enter the sex trade every year.

Experts also estimate that nearly 10,000,000 children are working as prostitutes, with nearly 90% of them girls.

According to the World Health Organization, malnutrition is the single biggest contributor to child mortality rates worldwide.
Many street children use a number of inhalants (glue, gasoline, lighter fluid) and illegal drugs (marijuana, cocaine and heroin).
Street children are routinely detained illegally, beaten and tortured and sometimes killed by police in some countries.

Source ISk org.

Just because these issues are not highlighted on bbc and cnn doesnt mean they don't exist, and they don't look like any impressive statistics of a developing world which is becoming a better place everyday.

 

[Mister Agenda]

I don't think the developing world is getting to be a better place every day. Every decade, maybe. Absolute poverty rate in the developing world (about $1.25 a day American) has gone from about 28% to 20% since 2001. It would be nice if it were a bigger change, but it is a change in the right direction.

We're not built to be happy when we have enough stuff. I'm sorry if farmers were happier when a fifth of their children died of preventable diseases but they were too busy trying to survive to be depressed. If happiness is not a product of civilization that's a shame, but low infant and child mortality is a product of civilization that is worth sacrificing a little happiness for. Hunter Gatherers tend to be happier than farmers, it doesn't mean we should have stuck with wandering the countryside in small bands, eating what we could dig up or catch.

Slavery still exists and those are dismaying examples of it. What has changed is only its prevalence and acceptability. It is in reach to drastically reduce these numbers, although we will never be able to fully control what people do in secret. The general trend is towards less slavery, especially as a percentage of global population.

If your definition of civilization is 'perfect global society without any problems', I don't think we'll ever have that. Which is okay, as long as it doesn't make us chuck the idea of having a civilization that is making progress, however slowly. That would be a shame, because the imperfect civilization we've got is still better than the even more imperfect civilizations we've had in the past.

 

[May Ayob]

Salaam
No we are Not Civilised
and whoever says we are, then they probably do not understand the meaning of civilization-
I think the word comprehends a lot of sentiments such as-
Education
Health
Morals and Ethics
..etc
If You mean By Civilization Opression then Yes we are " Civilized" to an extent that it is Normal to be massacaring millions of people and getting away with your crime by claiming that you now are old in age and that you don't quite remember the events that happened.
Western Countries usually in one way or the other try to propagate that their country's are 'civilized' I am not sure if i agree with that because I believe that this so called civilization only came after... the years and years of Slavery and Labour it was primarily what made their Economy-- I think it quite clear that the western Economy/State/ or 'Civilization' wouldn't have been the same was it not for these two factors.
The West also arranged a set of 'Moral' Codes that The "Civilized" European Union goes by...

I would be more interested into how we can make our planet a better place to live on for everyone and how we can really become more 'Civilised' than to talk about the causes of this Dilmna our world is facing right now?
How can we make a difference , I think would be a Good Question as well

Salaam

 

[GuestFellow]

A chanting parade that I hear often: "we are finally civilized humans or live in a civilized world". Some of the reasons given are following:

1) we no longer burn the witches
2) we have liberty and democracy
3) we have freedom and human rights: some rights for women & homosexuals, freedom of speech, public nudity & promiscuity
4) slavery is abolished
5) technology and science advancements
6) better educated

Discuss....

It depends on what you mean by civilized. So how would you define civilized?

 

[Who Am I?]

It depends on what you mean by civilized. So how would you define civilized?

We have sporks and bendy straws now. If that's not civilized, I don't know what is. ;D

 

[Ramadhan]

We have sporks and bendy straws now. If that's not civilized, I don't know what is.

Has the definition of civilized changed?
I thought sliced bread was the standard of civilization

 

[Who Am I?]

Has the definition of civilized changed?
I thought sliced bread was the standard of civilization

Wait, bread comes in slices now? mg:

This changes everything...

 

[Trumble]

I thought sliced bread was the standard of civilization.

It is. Everything started going downhill when thin-sliced disappeared in favour of that that ghastly medium-sliced stuff. The end of the cucumber sandwich as we know it.. :exhausted

 

[Who Am I?]

It is. Everything started going downhill when thin-sliced disappeared in favour of that that ghastly medium-sliced stuff. The end of the cucumber sandwich as we know it.. :exhausted

Good riddance to cucumber sandwiches. The PBJ is where it's at anyway.

 

[sister herb]

Sure we are very civilized today as we have many international laws and agreements for example how to protect civilians at the war time, like Geneva Conventions.

Unfortunately some countries have decided they have no need to follow any of them - if they don´t want.

 

[SFatima]

yeah we're so advanced in civilization that we impose wars on countries without even alarming the world at large or the invaded country for that matter, we can go kill innocent people inside any country without their puppet governments raising as much of an eyebrow.

 

[Who Am I?]

yeah we're so advanced in civilization that we impose wars on countries without even alarming the world at large or the invaded country for that matter, we can go kill innocent people inside any country without their puppet governments raising as much of an eyebrow.

It's like I've said for years, there is no honor in modern warfare. At least back in the old days (WW1 and to a lesser extent WW2) you could expect some semblance of decorum, like an official declaration of war to whoever you're invading. Nowadays you just push a button and blow some stuff up and call it a day, and all because the general public of some nations (USA) can't handle a few casualties.

If WW2 happened today, we would lose.

But that is a debate for another day.

 

[SFatima]

hmm didnt the Russians loose the war in afghanistan decades ago? They were quite loaded as well. On ground, isnt it taking the US so long to win win anything in Afghanistan? those people have hand made arms if nothing else : p

 

[sister herb]

Afghanistan is a grave yard of any foreign armies but I think this topic is not concern about it.

 

[Lynx]

hmm didnt the Russians loose the war in afghanistan decades ago? They were quite loaded as well. On ground, isnt it taking the US so long to win win anything in Afghanistan? those people have hand made arms if nothing else : p

Well it depends on what constitutes as "winning". The Taliban have lost control of the north, Al qaida is essentially dead, and there is a US friendly government in place even though the parliament is almost as bad as the Taliban were. I don't think it's possible for the US to completely eradicate all insurgents as they will continually spawn as long as the belief that US should not be in Afghanistan is there. Once the US withdraws I don't think there will be much animosity towards it from the Afghan people. The south will be the way it is (similar to what the taliban wanted all of afghanistan to be like), the taliban will never seize the north and both sides will be happy.

 

[Who Am I?]

Afghanistan is a grave yard of any foreign armies but I think this topic is not concern about it.

This. Ask the British, ask the Soviets, ask the USA.

Never fight a land war in Asia.

Never go against a Sicilian when death is on the line.

 

[Woodrow]

Can we call ourselves civilized as long as we spend more on the Military, than on education or health care?

 

[Samiun]

wr br,

According to Shed Naquib al-Attas, civilization is the achievement of high ethics and noble culture by a society. This has been also supported by Richard Sulllivan which states that the spiritual element is really important in concept of civilization.