The G-8 nations must address "grotesque" economic disparities that are making the world unstable, says a noted South African doctor and ethicist, who is one of the speakers at forums in Edmonton and Calgary on the eve of the G-8 Summit.
The G-8 nations wield the most economic and military power in the world, Solomon Benatar said in an interview. But they lack moral power and, as a result, have pursued policies that cannot be sustained, he said.
"The fact they have economic and military might doesn't give them moral might," he said. "In fact, I think they are moral pygmies."
Benatar, who is currently a visiting professor at the University of Toronto Bioethics Centre, will speak today at a people's forum being held in Calgary to raise awareness of the role and actions of the G-8 countries, whose leaders meet in nearby Kananaskis on June 26 and 27. He will speak Monday in Edmonton.
Benatar has argued forcefully that growing disparities under globalization are increasing poverty and disease, and affecting global security overall.
In a recent paper in the Journal of Medicine and Philosophy, he described the HIV/AIDS epidemic now devastating Africa as a sign of instability in a complex system in which economic conditions and human health are closely linked.
The emergence of 29 new infectious diseases since 1973 has to be viewed against a background of rapid change and growing inequity, he argued in the article. For example, sub-Saharan Africa, which has one per cent of the world's economic wealth and 10 per cent of its people, is struggling with the impossible task of trying to deal with 70 per cent of the world's HIV/AIDS burden with few medical resources.
Benatar said in a telephone interview that high rates of infectious disease and environmental decay may create problems that our current economic and military systems are incapable of handling.
"Infectious diseases could be a big security risk of the future, aided by bioterrorism," he said. Yet traditional military power is not accustomed to dealing with such threats.
Benatar said he sees some evidence of a shift in thinking by the powerful countries, which have promised to try to come up with a new deal for Africa at the Kananaskis summit.
He also said he believes Canada could act as "a wedge" to lead other economically well-off countries to begin to tackle inequities.
"People's attitudes can change," he said, citing the progress made against racism in South Africa since the dismantling of apartheid.
Benatar said he believes that ethical questions have to be extended into the international arena. That way, countries will have to consider the ethical consequences of their actions, and those that do harm can be "shamed" into changing.
He said he doesn't expect any big gains to come from the Kananaskis summit, "but I hope they will show some goodwill" on issues relating to poor countries, he said.
SPEAKING HERE
- Solomon Benatar will speak Monday, June 24, at noon, in Bernard Snell Hall, in the Walter Mackenzie Health Sciences Centre, part of University Hospital.
- His topic will be 'Kananaskis, the G-8 and Global Health'
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