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6th December 2003 | Draft

Globalization of Death

a checklist

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Comment

The following is an unordered checklist of processes contributing directly or indirectly to the globalization of death. Many of these are profiled (possibly with multiple variants) in the world problem or strategy databases of the Encyclopedia of World Problems and Human Potential. Some of the alternative movements opposing irresponsible globalization, notably those associated with the Zapatistas, explicitly claim to be acting as a "global movement against the globalization of death" [more]

Weapons of mass destruction (nuclear, chemical, biological): their development, their manufacture, their testing, their proliferation worldwide, their use [more]

Encouragement of fecundity: notably through lack of effective control on conception, to ensure greater numbers of deaths, especially in countries least capable of supporting increased population levels [more]

Increasing carbon emissions: to accelerate global warming and its consequences for decreasing the ability of the planet to support life [more]

Aborting foetuses: as a form of murder that is increasingly the only recourse for many impoverished families [more]

Extinguishing plant and animal species, notably those of value to human lives and livelihoods, through imposing stresses on the environment [more]

Sexually transmitted diseases: increasing number of deaths, notably from HIV/AIDS, through deliberately discouraging safe sex precautions [more]

Engendering (designer) diseases for which there is little resistance, notably to advance covert commercial or eugenic agendas [more]

Maldistributing food to ensure shortages and starvation

Disrupting the food chain to aggravate food shortages, endanger livelihoods and to ensure dissemination of diseases (eg BSE)

Deforesting to ensure systematic destruction of both plant and animal species on which livelihoods may depend

Encouraging excessive population numbers and overcrowding to aggravate conditions leading to death

Manufacturing and distributing pesticides toxic to man and non-target species

Encouraging civil violence with its necessarily fatal consequences

Encouraging domestic violence with its potentially fatal consequences

Dumping dangerous and toxic products to endanger populations

Encouraging depletion of non-renewable energy resources on which livelihoods depend

Destroying livelihoods through irresponsible agricultural and industrial development, whether deliberate or inadevertent

Genetically modified organisms: their irresponsible development, testing, dissemination and use such as to endanger populations, whether directly or indirectly

Nanotechnology: its irresponsible development, testing, dissemination and use such as to endanger populations, whether directly or indirectly

Encouraging bacterial resistance to antibiotics to ensure increasing number of hospital fatalities

Depleting non-saline water reserves such as to threaten agriculture and lives in many regions

Irresponsibly engaging in risky large-scale experiments with potentially grave consequences for life on the planet

Imprudent efforts to attract attention of intelligent extraterrestrials whose intentions may prove fatal to humanity

Dumbing down public information to undermine potential for collective remedial response to future life-threatening crises

Repressing populations with security forces using fatal technologies and unconstrained rules of engagement

Torturing suspects -- possibly with fatal conseauences

Weaponry: its irresponsible development, testing, manufacture, sale, proliferation and use -- with necessarily fatal consequences

Transportation: its irresponsible development, testing, manufacture, sale, proliferation and use -- with necessarily fatal consequences

Witholding assistance to peoples and persons in danger, necessarily aggravating the possibility of their deaths, notably in developing countries

Engaging irresponsibly in religious crusades and jihads that necessarily ensure loss of life

Junk foods: their irresponsible development, testing, manufacture, sale, proliferation and use -- with necessarily fatal consequences

Encouraging rogue nations, agencies and groups and their fatal consequences on lives and ecosystems

Tolerating criminal networks and their capacity to destroy the social fabric and lives, as well as undermining the system of justice

Over-fishing to deplete marine food reserves and ensure the starvation of those dependent on them

Marine pollution to destroy marine food reserves and ensure the starvation of those dependent on them

Eroding collective memory of past crises and of the precautions needed to avoid future life-endangering crises

Smoking: its irresponsible development, testing, manufacture, sale, proliferation and use -- with necessarily fatal consequences

Drugs: their irresponsible development, testing, manufacture, sale, proliferation and use -- with necessarily fatal consequences

Terrorism: its irresponsible encouragement through failure of dialogue regarding marginalized populations -- with necessarily fatal consequences

Working conditions: the irresponsible development and exploitation of sweatshop condtions -- with necessarily fatal consequences, notably in developing countries

Unsafe products: their irresponsible development, testing, manufacture, sale, proliferation and use -- with necessarily fatal consequences

Soundscape pollution: the irresponsible development, testing, manufacture, sale, proliferation and use of technologies resulting in noise pollution -- with necessarily fatal consequences to some species (on which humans may be indirectly dependent)

Hunting and fishing destructive of animal populations, notably in fragile ecosystems

Extolling virtual death, and the processes leading to it, whether on media or in videogames

Encouraging indifference to the fatal consequences of all of the above, thus ensuring that the processes develop unchecked

Official and public complicity, at the highest level, in the above actions and the agencies that engage in them

Irresponsible positivism denying the need for action, precaution or the evidence reinforcing that need if fatalities are to be avoided


References

Anthony Judge:

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