(Four minute read time). Two weeks ago, we released the first in a series of Economics in the Age of Pandemics blogs. Following this release, and based upon our informal poll conducted on the Artemes Facebook page (link…), an overwhelming majority of people feel that our economic system should be based upon human health, as opposed to economic output.
With this in mind, we at Artemes wanted to dive into what this new economic system could possibly look like. Again, the waters can get murky very quickly if we start asking all the questions that go into creating a holistic economic system. To prevent that from happening, let’s again concentrate on just one question here…
Based upon the fact that most all of us agree that human health should be the cornerstone of any economic system, what one condition or attribute would be the most efficient way to build human health directly into the system?
At this point in the discussion, cost is not a concern (we will get to this later). Neither is the question of whether this will be instituted at a national or international level. Again, let’s keep clarity and focus and figure out the one thing, that if instituted, will create the highest Global Health Index (GHI). This is our only goal at this moment. We will cross those other bridges once we arrive at them.
To select the perfect mechanism to deliver the highest GHI, we must take an honest look at what’s happening in the world today. It’s impossible to deny the threats faced by so many.
· One in every nine people on the earth ( ~795 Mil) are undernourished or heavily food insecure.
· 1.1 billion people live without clean drinking water and dirty water kills 5,000 kids per day. UNICEF expects that one in four children will live with water scarcity by 2040 due to climate change.
· Half of the world goes without basic, essential health services.
· reports indicate that more than 20% of the world’s population lacks adequate housing.
During this time of great abundance of world wealth and resources, so many remain left behind.
This current system is flawed because policies encourage a “survival of the fittest” mentality that leaves the least advantaged and most vulnerable scrambling around, merely trying to survive.
Considering all these facts, we at Artemes feel that the most efficient and direct way to increase the GHI is by providing access to food, clean water, shelter, and healthcare (The Big 4) to every human on this planet. For free! Just by being a human, we each get treated humanely.
For this key feature of the economic system, everyone gets their basic needs met. Universal Housing. Universal Nourishment. Universal Healthcare.
If you are born human, you have access to all these. Whether it’s the elderly, the poor, the homeless, or the hungry; for our new economic system to really hum, we must first figure out how to take care of all of these individuals.
We feel that everything else being equal, that if The Big 4 were provided to everyone, this would result in the greatest increase of the GHI. We base this on science and common sense.
For every animal, food, water, and shelter are the primary requirements for survival. If we can take care of these three things, much of the pressures of life will simply go away (and our overall happiness will simply go up). Being higher animals (as far as we know), we also felt that providing healthcare would be the one other thing that would also release us from much of our daily stress and anxiety.
When we provide The Big 4 to every individual, most of the world’s most pressing issues will instantly go away.
· If systems were put into place to organize local growers and to give them the equipment needed, there would be no more famine.
· If water lines were constructed along with innovative systems that collect water from the very air we breathe (these systems are already available…), no more communities would be poisoned by their water supply.
· If we made it a priority to build innovative housing situations for everyone, there would be no more homelessness.
· If we trained more doctors and built more hospitals (and provided it to individuals as if they were humans) there would be no more uncared for community members.
· If we each had and shared all these things, there would be no more need for wars over limited resources.
Do these things, and there’s no way that our economic system (based upon human health) would not be soaring!
For our next global pandemic, no one will have the stress of losing a job or a business, as everyone within the system (also known as the world) will inherently be taken care of. The parents of young and adolescent children will be very relieved to know that their children will always be taken care of. The elderly, and soon to be elderly, will also breathe a sigh of relief. Much of society’s every day pressure will simply dissipate.
But, what do we know? There’s a good chance that YOU may have an even better “one thing” than The Big 4. Something that will induce an even higher GHI in our reimagined economic system. What is it?
Let us know… Let’s create this together!
1 thought on “Economics in the Age of Pandemics: The Big 4.”