Have you noticed just how unequal and lopsided this world is?
Are you aware that a staggering 70% of us hold a pitiful 3% of the entire amount of global wealth? Looked at another way, some 86% of global wealth is owned by less than 9% of the planet’s total population!
In geographic terms, more than two-thirds of global wealth is concentrated in the US and Europe.
“In societies with strong power elites, the power holders’ power is dependent on the co-operation, acquiescence, and tacit support of the great majority of common citizens.”
– Bill Moyer
Feeding the fire of inequality
The overwhelming majority of us work really hard for an income that can be best described as modest and is, in many cases, barely liveable, whereas a tiny fraction of the population – less than 100,000 individuals – own assets in excess of $50m, vastly more than anyone could possibly need to live their entire lives in great comfort.
Money buys stuff and we earthlings – having been duped into believing that more stuff means a more successful and better life – are generally preoccupied with getting more of it. But this preoccupation only feeds the fire of inequality.
This inequality, or ’lopsidedness’, that most of us mere mortals are presented with every day, brings with it an insidiousness that is two-pronged in its effect.
Scarce resources
Firstly, it promotes in us humans a subconscious notion that what we are preoccupied with attaining is a scarce resource.
In other words, if we want a slice of a very limited pie we will be forced to fight tooth and nail for it. We can either be prepared to work ourselves to the brink of exhaustion or we can abandon our moral compasses and engage in corrupt and more devious ways to tip the scales in our favour.
By way of example, it seems almost commonplace nowadays to hear about how those individuals – the ones that we citizens endow with political status supposedly in order to serve our best interests – abuse that status to promote their own monetary gains.
A sense of hopelessness
The second effect of extreme inequality is to induce a sense of hopelessness amongst those who have no appetite for working themselves to the bone or playing dirty to get on in life.
In other words, if the dice is so loaded against Joe Citizen, what is the point of even trying to take on the system. Far easier to acquiesce, accept one’s powerlessness and go with the flow to try and live an ‘easier’ life.
Now for the good news
You’ll be forgiven if you are left nodding your head and feeling a little depressed after reading what I’ve written so far … but there is good news for those who are looking for a different way.
Three fundamental misconceptions
You see, the system of inequality that we know only too well is not some divine ordinance. It is a system of human making that has come about as a result of three original and fundamental misconceptions – misconceptions that are perpetuated by the privileged few who benefit therefrom.
Misconception 1: We live in a world of scarcity.
In fact, this is a planet of natural abundance – a world of plenty where, without unscrupulous human manipulation, there is more than enough of everything we need to survive, prosper and flourish.
Misconception 2: Success should be measured by one’s level of material wealth and be gauged by others.
Money is humanity’s chosen form of currency and it is true that it can help us to acquire assets that will facilitate a more comfortable life. But we have fallen into the trap of equating level of comfort with level of success when true success is the degree to which we have found and done justice to our purpose in life.
Success is a thoroughly subjective measure. Only we can gauge our own level of success and we should gauge it solely according to how genuinely happy, contented and fulfilled we feel within.
Misconception 3: We, as individuals, have no power.
The truth is that each one of us has a personal power that is quite beyond our wildest dreams but that remains largely untapped because of the limiting beliefs and psychological barriers that have been imposed on us – thanks to the lopsided nature of the world we live in.
My message
The message I want to share in this article is that it is time that we opened our eyes. It is time to take back our power. Each one of us that does so will help shift the misconceptions on which the lopsided world that we have created currently exists.
Life was never meant to be a struggle. Challenging, yes, because that\’s how we grow and develop, but not a dour battle against rampant inequality, stacked odds and scarce resources.
It’s time to take back our power, time to refuse to be subdued by the despondency and hopelessness that we are continually fed through our media, time to look inwards for strength, meaning and purpose, instead of outwards for acknowledgement, acceptance and status.
We need …
We need to benchmark ourselves on how we feel about ourselves and not how we think others perceive of us.
We need to ask what brings us inner happiness and fulfilment. The answer is that which we should start to pursue with everything we have.
We need to find ourselves in a world in which so many nowadays feel lost.
We need to practice love, tolerance, caring, understanding and, above all, respect and appreciation for every individual’s unique and diverse contribution to our amazing world.
We need to change the way our children and our children’s children perceive of our world so that they can inherit a better, kinder, more fulfilling place.
It’s time!
To do so, we need to tap into our inner beings and harness our inner strengths.
It’s time take back our power!
Yes , its time indeed ! To release others from what we perceive them to think of us and validate ourselves.
Thank you Bill
Take full responsibility for your own life and all that happens in it, gain personal awareness, empowerment and control, be accountable and from there take hold of your power……..
One of the most valuable lessons I learnt during the training to become a certified New Insights Life Coach. A lesson that let’s me hold my power and help others take back theirs.
A powerful blog post Bill. Thank you!
Thanks for your valuable insights Jan!
Discovering new problem from old solutions and then new solutions to old problems is the path of human evolution. Become grateful for what we are, what we do, what we have, grateful for the other , is also the path to care of the humanity. Gratitude,inspiration, enthusiasm, unconditional love have unlimited power.
Thanks Frederic!
Such a powerful piece of writing, thank you, Bill. I hope that every South African is inspired to act on your challenge. As Stephen Covey said, “Begin with the end in mind” and “First things first.” Let us act soon…time is running out. No one else will do the hard work for us! Let us work hard and love and respect each other more. It is time to replace rascism with acceptance and apathy with commitment. But first we need to acknowledge our Higher Power, have a vision and a new set of values and follow a clear strategy, holding each other accountable along the way. The 5 pillars of our South African society – safety, health, housing, education and productivity, are in Intensive Care and urgently need rescuing!
Wise words indeed as always – thank you Karen!