but I wonder who the some people could have been.Generator said:Even though the definitions (I would say measurements) differ, that doesn't mean that the poverty in Australia is of no consequence or that the idea of what you call 'democracy' is justified merely because a nation-state is seeking economic development (normally at the expense of social and environmental conditions).
As for the point that I raised in my previous post, it was just a general observation that i was likely to raise at some stage.
I never said that it was not an important issue, just that the developing and developed world standards of 'poverty' are different and this point should be recognised. I'm saying that the poor in our country have more opportunities, thus my empathy is more with the people in Africa. A lot of people come here wiht nothing and work their way up, it is just not possible there.
It raises an interesting question though, should we concentrate on helping the least fortunate in faraway countries most of us haven't been to, or on the less fortunate closer to home?
Edit: I think you fail to realise the intrinstic relationship between the economy society and environment. triple bottom line isn't it? Without an economic base you cannot have a society or environment conforming to developing world standards. One example: if you can't afford to feed your kid how are you going to dredge money up to take them to ballet class? What is more important? I don't support regimes that - sacrifice human rights and environmental standards for profit but while part of it is corruption and individual greed some of it is due to necessity.
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