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Social Wellness and World Peace Issues – What Causes a Recession?
From an economic wellness perspective, the entire world is experiencing a reset of how life is organized on the planet. For a great majority of the almost seven billion persons around the world, life is not happy, peaceful, safe nor barely prosperous.
Because the basis of all life is energy, the issues, conditions and realities of one person affects the energy and reality of all others. More importantly for our discussion about an economic recession, the financial situation of the majority must always affect the whole.
Social-Political Sustainability – The Human Element
It is commonly accepted that the project of sustainable development is conceptually composed of three constituent parts. These parts are (1) environmental sustainability, (2) economic sustainability, and (3) social-political sustainability. The United Nations 2005 World Summit refers to the “interdependent and mutually reinforcing pillars” of sustainable development as environmental protection, economic development and social development. The interdependency of the first two is evident; it is perhaps the greatest challenge of our time to satisfy the needs and wants of burgeoning populations within the binding constraints imposed by our physical environment. But what is this great hoopla about social development and sustainability of politics, and what exactly is its place?
If environmental protection is concerned with the preservation of our natural environment and resources, and economic sustainability is concerned with seeking durable growth solutions therein, then the social-political sphere can be thought of as representative of the more purely human element in the equation. Social development and social-political sustainability are intimately related concepts but they are not in fact entirely interchangeable. It is important that we understand their symbiotic relationship and its implications for the broader sustainability project.
Influence of Slavery on Political and Economic Development in the United States From 1619-1865
The institution of slavery has played an important role in history of the United States until the abolishment of slavery in 1865. Slaves were common in both Southern and Northern states from the arrival of first African slaves in 1619 throughout the colonial era as well as much of the 19th century. With an aim to win the Southern states, the United States Constitution of 1788 recognized the institution of slavery by allowing each state to regulate slavery within its borders.
Despite the fact that slaves were found in both Southern and Northern states, slaves never exceeded more than 5% of total population in the North. In the South, on the other hand, slaves have reached 10% of total population by 1680 and the number of slaves continued to rise even after the Northern states started to abolish slavery at the beginning of the 19th century. Why slavery in the North was never as widespread as in the South is not fully understood but the increased demand for cotton in Europe and invention of the cotton gin at the end of the 18th century undoubtedly greatly influenced the demand for slaves in Southern states. The cotton gin enabled production of larger quantities of cotton which in turn required a larger labor force – slaves. By 1860, slaves have exceeded 30% of total population in the South.