Student Question
Do you agree that war, famine, and disease are more pressing issues than endemic terrorism?
Quick answer:
War, famine, and disease are generally more pressing issues than endemic terrorism due to their higher impact on loss of life. Famine is the leading cause of death, followed by disease, both of which significantly affect global living standards and can exacerbate other problems. While terrorism is a severe threat due to its potential to spread and leverage other crises, it ranks lower in urgency compared to these pervasive issues.
This is a very complicated question, but I think I would agree to some extent that those other issues are more pressing. In general, things like war, famine, and disease are responsible for more loss of life than terrorism. However, terrorism has the capacity to spread more than the others and can even utilize the others for its own destructive ends. For those reasons, terrorism ranks relatively high, but the others are still more pressing in general.
If I were to rank them in terms of importance, with 1 being the most pressing, I would do the following:
- Famine: hunger kills more than anything else in the world, and contributes significantly to disease.
- Disease: Disease is the second biggest killer behind hunger. It is a tall task, but ending needless loss of life to famine and disease will increase the standard of living around the world and will prevent other conflicts.
- War: War is destructive to lives and economies, and it is important to prevent dissension and violence among people.
- Terrorism: This is a vital evil that needs to be eradicated, because it is strictly related to intolerance and violence.
Get Ahead with eNotes
Start your 48-hour free trial to access everything you need to rise to the top of the class. Enjoy expert answers and study guides ad-free and take your learning to the next level.
Already a member? Log in here.