It can be argued that we are all citizens of the globe, as we all have basic human rights. The Human Rights declaration (1978) is a law that protects rights for all. However, it is arguable that for many people the declaration is insignificant, as in some parts of the world, laws permit people from being able to exercise such rights. For example, in Afghanistan, the Taleban Government does not allow women to be educated.
In Western cultures like Britain, perhaps we are not even citizens, let alone global ones. One of the strongest influences on our society, that encourages us to be ‘consumers’ rather than citizens, is the rise of international businesses that contribute to the process of globalisation. Also known as 'Macdonalidisation', (Macionis and Plummer: 199) this process brings capitalism to parts of the world, many which are already, or at least partly affluent countries. Developing countries are left even further behind as a result, with little chance of prosperity in such a consumer driven world. Not to mention the thousands of rainforest acres, that are destroyed to make room for cattle ranches, to produce burgers for such fast food chains as MacDonald’s. Although such processes as ‘Macdonaldisation’ contribute to globalisation, they impede global citizenship, as capitalism has taken over, in part, our values to an extent whereby, instead of looking out for others, whether in other parts of the world or locally, we portray economic prosperity as the primary goal and look after ourselves only.
Now that we have established what global citizenship implies, that people can be labelled non-active and active global citizens, and that by majority we are not active, we must look at ways to make people more aware of the need to address global issues. It would seem that there is one issue that most people agree on and this is preserving the environment. However, even in this field there is conflict. There are often disputes between the environmentalist and the people who live locally around rainforest areas. Where the environmentalist’s objectives are to stop the industrialisation of such areas to save the thousands of species, the locals see industrialisation as brining “economic prosperity” (Shrader-Frechette: 221). Here the locals do not clearly understand the long-term implications of deforestation, perhaps from lack of education.
Another major global issue is air travel, and the adverse affects on the environment from the gases, which are given off by the fuel, “Injecting massive amounts of harmful greenhouse gases directly into the atmosphere is a major climate change problem” (Friends of the Earth). This is not as much common knowledge as other environmental issues. Ideally we should be made more aware of the affects air travel can have, to encourage less unnecessary journeys by plane and the use of other more economical means of travel.
A further issue global citizens should be concerned with is global consumption. We should be buying products that have been produced fairly and ethically, not by poorly paid children in developing countries and should look for products that have the ‘fair trade’ logo on them so that we can be sure of this. In our consumer driven society, we are putting all emphasis on price, packaging and advertising rather on ethical consumption. We need to use our own modern tools to make people aware of this such as television advertising, to get peoples attention. However, ethical products are still more expensive than commercial ones, thus it is difficult to persuade people to put their hands in their pockets again when all our lives it has been drummed into out heads that we should get the best value and quality for what we can afford.
Indeed there are still countries where people are living in absolute poverty (Dower: 195) meaning that they don’t even have the minimal essentials such as food and water, to survive. Singer, in Practical Ethics argued that we have a morale duty to help others in the community, so why not give aid to poorer nations as well if we have the means to do so? Singer also argued that we should give ten percent of our earnings to NGO’s. Perhaps this amount is unrealistic but a good idea in principle. He recognised the fact that we need a structure to give aid rather than just giving a little bit, here and there, if we are going to make a difference to those less fortunate.
In conclusion, the majority of us are not global citizens, as we do not all actively participate in global issues, although we do have global laws so it could be said that we are all global citizens by rule. But it is desirable that we become more aware of global issues, instead of being selfish and looking after ourselves and ‘our own’. We need global institutions such as the UN as a rigid framework for laws but we also need NGO’s to fight for global causes. But to really underpin global citizenship we need to be educated on global ethics, at a young age at schools and through the media.
We value a sense of individuality but it has come at a cost. We have to take responsibility for a world, which we, as individuals share with each other people and remember what we do in out lifetimes will affect others who follow. Citizenship gives us certain rights and protection, but with these should also come a sense of responsibility if we are to become, citizens of the globe.
Bibliography
Dower, N. (1998), Global citizenship and Global Ethics, The New Agenda: Edinburgh University Press.
Friends of the Earth. (1999), Government Agrees: Air Travel is a Serious Climate Threat
http://www.foe.co.uk/pubsinfoteam/pressrel/1999/19990517133342.html
Oxfam International. (2001), A Curriculum for Global Citizenship
Shrader-Frechette, K.S. (1993), Environmental Ethics, The Environment Versus the Poor: The Boxwood Press
Singer, P. (1993), Practical Ethics, 2nd Edition: Cambridge University Press