Balance individual vs. Collective interests

Balance individual vs. Collective interests

Introduction

Over the past 50 years, the global middle class—defined here as those who are able to spend a third or more of their income for non-necessities—has tripled to over one half of the world's population.

Balance individual vs. Collective interests

Balance individual incredibly, this number has the potential to double again in the coming decades. Forever more, we will not only be looking for the proper balance between our individual wants and needs, but for the proper balance between our aspirations and the limitations of our only home, the Planet Earth.

Up until now, most of us have focused primarily on what's right for ourselves and what's right for the other people involved in our lives. Little consideration was needed for the people that lived on the other side of the world. But today we live in an increasingly interconnected world and sometimes our need to specialize in our local tasks makes us forget the bigger picture. Unfortunately, our personal goals can blind us into the 'us versus them' situations that often end with tragic consequences.

As we rush into this new century together, we need to look at all aspects of the issues we face—not just the tradeoffs between 'limited and unlimited' but at the very essence of the differences between you, me and we. The viewpoints offered here cover a broad range of human issues where there is no single answer. Liberal and conservative is a common example, especially in America. Different people can have different opinions and still be decent people. These differences are traditionally regarded as dualities (or more colloquially as 'issues') because they represent both contrasting, yet acceptable aspects of the human experience.

But to many individuals, their views are often framed in black and white. Yet when we ...