Sustainable international development
Paper details:
Our class has focused on two competing and incredibly complex sets of challenges. The first is the challenge to overcome geographical luck (think back to the arguments in Guns, Germs, and Steel) and the oppressive history of colonialism (including slavery and neocolonial economic relationships) to address global poverty and rising socioeconomic inequality.
The second set of challenges centers around the many global environmental crises we now face, and the role of our political and economic systems in either perpetuating or overcoming these challenges.
Do you think that we should prioritize either of these challenges over the other, or are there ways to address both at the same time?
Put another way, are the goals of poverty alleviation and environmental sustainability at odds with one another, or can they be addressed simultaneously, or even through the same solutions?
Be sure to make direct reference to the texts we’ve read for class in formulating your arguments, and you may incorporate the readings listed for April 3 on the syllabus into your argument.
Answer these questions in an approximately 5-8 page essay (1.5 spaced). There are no correct answers! You will be graded on the quality of your analysis and your use of the texts to support your arguments.
