The Montage
Sometimes life really pushes you to examine the world
One such instance had been over term break while lounging in a pool that I had all to myself
In wanting to explore each part of it, I had swum to the very edge overlooking the calming greeneries
But there, I also then caught sight of a number of sweat-drenched migrant workers showering from a tub in the open air
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Against their backs were makeshift houses with zinc rooftops and what appeared to be where they stayed
I had wondered if they might be the same people who had built the pool and apartment I was in, and if they were, how ironic it was that they were the same people who are unlikely to use and live in these spaces they helped build
I didn't quite understand how our life's chain of events had led us to where we are; me in an abundant pool of water, and them sharing one tub amongst one another
And as I further examined our world, I found that these incredibly unequal conditions in how we live appear everywhere¹
Both in what we may consider the developing nations (like Sau Paolo, Durban, or Manila and the developed ones like New York, Rome, or Dubai)
That brief moment in my childhood had always made me wonder; given that our world is at its most prosperous with some people earning much more they can ever spend in their lifetime², why isn't this prosperity universally, or at least, nationally shared?
Why are there still people who struggle to gain access to basic necessities?
Why is it okay that some people have to live and work in unsanitary or unsafe environments?
How is it possible that someone can be working most days of the week and still not have enough to get by?
If the lives that we get to live are dependent on our own hard work and effort, then how much control do we, as an individual actually have over the opportunities that we get, and with that, the outcome of our own lives?
If I myself have arrived where I am due to my own effort, then is it right to assume that everyone else has an equal say too over the opportunities made available to them, and with that, be able to decide the outcome of their own lives?
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With all of these questions in mind, I set out to understand about you, me, and the distance in between
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The Exploration
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In the whole trajectory of our lives, there are countless variables that come into play that impact how it unfolds
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They may include things like where and how we're brought up (upbringing), or where we studied, and how long our schooling year is (education), or our parent's income level and what lifestyles are imparted on us (socioeconomic status), and what our personal values are, as well as more categorical ones like our gender, race, culture, religion, and many many more
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Based on our interactions with these variables, it gradually helps shape who we are as a person, who we're surrounded by, what we do as a living, what values we hold, and essentially, how we live and conduct ourselves as a whole
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When I was in school, there was great emphasis placed on the importance of studying and working hard, and creating opportunities for yourself to help you get to where you'd like to be in the future
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Doing well in school provides us the necessary grades to obtain a scholarship and attend reputable universities. And while we're there, we are able to make connections and gain insights into the work industry, and following this, we're able to land a job that enables us to make a living, and all of this sets a firm ground on which we may then build the rest of our lives
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And as documented in this research paper, having a tertiary education is especially important in achieving social mobility for children of low-income parents, as they are 4.6 times more likely to achieve social mobility than those without
However, I had slowly begun to see that perhaps our individual effort and academic ability alone may not be enough to help improve our current living conditions especially because we have vastly different starting points
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And the economist, Max Roser argues that on a global scale, where we are born is the single most important factor that determines what kind of lives we get to live due to how intrinsically linked it is to all of the other factors, with our own personal attributes playing much less of a role
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To look at this more closely, we may think of our lives as a race
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The Race Analogy
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Let's imagine our two runners at the starting line, both who are equally hardworking and have similar academic ability
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Our first runner is Aurora, who was born in an affluent family and has access to plenty of resources that support her own self-development
Next, we have Tiana, who was largely brought up by a single mum in a low-income neighborhood and who, besides her mum, also relies on government support to help her get by
As soon as they start off, we immediately begin to see the differences in how their lives unfold
Aurora gets a headstart by default of being surrounded by groups of people who are already quite successful, while Tiana's pace is slower since she has to navigate around things largely on her own
Aurora attends a private school with various facilities and whose teachers are able to provide plenty of support for its students
Meanwhile, Tiana attends a public school nearby with great teachers too, but their classrooms are overcrowded, making it difficult to look after each and every one of them, which is made more challenging due to a lack of proper resources and facilities
More of these differences appear when it comes to Aurora having more access to the various resources available in the city, all of which aren't available in the rural neighborhood Tiana resides in
Other potential hurdles may arise for Tiana such as poor internet connectivity, not being able to afford IT equipment, or her family and relatives not seeing the point of education and pressuring her to work instead, or not knowing the right people to assist with her college applications
If she eventually is able to overcome those and is then able to secure a scholarship, the best possible outcome out of these scenarios is that both Aurora and Tiana will find themselves in a similar prestigious university, and later on, they will possibly end up in a similar job position too.
And in that moment, their starting points seemingly won't matter as much anymore, but it's nevertheless important to recognize the added effort that Tiana had to put in, and the extra hurdles she had to face, and the external help she had to rely on to get to where she is.
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And this version of the story is only applicable to someone like Tiana who has a much more natural eagerness to learn and has the ability to do so
Things might have ended up very differently. Tiana might have had to significantly miss out on school to help out at home, or she might not attend classes due to her struggle with period poverty, or she might have lost interest in learning as a whole if her teachers are not very dedicated.
All of these extra hurdles may lead to more definitive outcomes and eliminate any chances of her obtaining a scholarship and improving her conditions
The Reality
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If we were to change the variable a little so that both of them now have average academic ability, we'll find that Aurora is much more likely to do better than Tiana and still be able to attend a good university and get hired for a decently paid job even if her effort and achievements, to begin with, was subpar
For someone like Tiana, the opportunities to improve her life are reduced when she doesn't do as well academically or if she doesn't possess another skill that may be converted into a source of income.
And in Malaysia, there especially isn't enough support for individuals whose strengths don't lie in academics.
If Aurora's parents are in possession of enough wealth, then she could effectively just sleep for most of her life and at the end of the day, still have more money than Tiana
Scenarios similar to this are happening in the real world too, as we speak; we can replace Aurora and Tiana with Aishah and Wen Yan, or Gunesh and Adam, and we'll find that people aren't where they are largely and simply because of their own hard work or a lack of it, but rather because there are a range of circumstances that enabled them or caused them to arrive at those places
For some, the circumstances they are born into already comes with vast opportunities and privileges that lead them to even more opportunities and privileges, but for others, it does not quite work the same way, and they often have to put in the extra effort
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And it's important to acknowledge this and to acknowledge that people don't deliberately choose to stay in hardship, and in many cases, they do not have similar opportunities and are not given enough opportunities to rise above their current levels
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This is especially true for people born in rural areas or children who may have a disability or a learning difficulty
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While efforts have been made to level the playing field and protect people from falling too far behind, such as providing loans and scholarships, or increasing government grants, or creating projects and institutions specifically aimed at benefitting the bottom 40 percent, these efforts alone still aren't enough, and studies show that some of these interventions are even at risk of benefitting the wrong people, such as the case with scholarships where less than 40% is going to the B40s.
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And with rising urban poverty, we know that there is not only a divide between the urban and rural, but a divide also exists between neighborhoods and districts, of what is meant to be a highly productive city that is supposed to be providing adequate jobs for everyone.
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The Resolution
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This enormous issue of inequality is a multi-layered one and requires interventions from people on all levels of society. And so it's necessary to address the issue in the context of people who don't have enough alongside the context of people who have too much
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And despite the growing inequality caused by the pandemic, between various countries and within them, the future that we want for ourselves and for our upcoming generation doesn't have to be this way.
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While we are always encouraged to do well in school, to do well in our exams, to contribute to our economy, and so on, what we don't investigate often enough when racing for these pursuits is: but what are we doing all of these things for?
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As Mariana Mazzucato points out, "growth has not only a rate but also a direction".
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While it is important to continually build our own selves, the pandemic has highlighted that we are much more dependent on one another than we think, and championing the strength of a few individuals is not sustainable, and we instead need inclusive growth.
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The wealth of a nation does not merely lie in the strength of a GDP, which remains as the main indicator of how well a country is doing, but it also involves all of the diverse interactions within it, between humans and other humans, as well as between humans and our natural environment.
I'd like to believe that in building ourselves, the natural outcome of that is that we're able to help build others too, and each opportunity we get is an opportunity to create them for others as well
Our world thrives when we collaborate with and support one another and when we allow everyone the opportunity to live meaningful lives, whether that is through working in a career they love, or being a part of a supportive family, or traveling the world, or embracing their faith, or pursuing knowledge, or spending a lot of time in nature.
Having more egalitarian societies allow each person to be content and at peace with who they are and what they do, and studies have found a strong correlation between countries with lower inequality with increased levels of trust among their people, as well as improved mental and physical health, and reduced rates of imprisonment and even higher educational performance, all of which enables a better life for all, and not just the privileged few.
The question then arises:
But where do we begin?
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I've recently learned that while we can't change the entire world, we can nevertheless change someone else's world.
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We really don't need to be in a position of power to help empower others. it is enough to just change parts of the world that we do have access to and to help those within our reach, like our nearby communities
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And the collective care that we have for one another may just then translate onto a wider-scale and emerge itself as wider support for efforts such as Universal Basic Income that allows everyone to still live dignified lives even if their job doesn't pay as much, or a Job Guarantee Scheme that enables people to earn a living even if they don't acquire specialized skills or an expanded Social Safety net that protects individuals from being trapped in cycles of poverty or perhaps even progressive tax that help make sure that people are contributing monetarily to society in equivalence to what they can afford
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And all of this begins with the simple realization that we each have a right not to just exist, but also to live in the world, to participate in our societies, to have time spent for leisure, and to be around the people we love.
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And with the realization that this distance I see between you and me, is something that can be bridged
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So that your children may obtain the same quality education that I have, so that you and your family may live peacefully and enjoy your work too, so that you may also experience the prosperity, magnificence, and beauty of our world which you, myself, and every single person around us has helped create.
