The awarding of prizes, compliments, rewards, and honours is appreciation in its purest form. But only as long as nothing is expected in return. Because then the term itself would have been awarded to bribery.
The greatest challenge in using the word “forgive” goes by another name too: forgiving. Someone who has committed a wrong — are they to be forgiven, forgotten, pardoned? Well, that is the actual meaning of the word, and of the act behind it. Wow, that can push hard against the limits of tolerance. And against our understanding of human rights and basic humanity. Forgiving a financial debt is already far too demanding for many a Homo sapiens. “But he owes me that money!” — you hear it then, with the full indignation of a wounded principle.
Yes, but…
In the spirit of goodwill, or of the deliberately good with a fair bit of wealth to spare, a small debt like this could surely just be forgiven and forgotten. How burdensome is it when students are still paying off their education at forty? Or when rising mortgage costs put daily food on the line? Choosing between housing and eating is brutally hard. When children are involved, even more so.
From small debt to large: one percent of the population owns half of all wealth — and forgives precious little of it.
And just sits on it.
Could these ladies and gentlemen of the ultra-rich not hand over their fair share to society, instead of forgoing such enormous opportunities for development?
Investing in people and their surroundings is rarely in vain. No, the money isn’t missing. There is simply too much of it, parked in the wrong place.
So let’s talk numbers. What would it cost to put this parked money to work?
With a paltry 40 to 50 billion dollars a year, world hunger would be forgiven. That would be reaching into the petty cash of the super-rich — not their wallet, not even their pants pocket. Basic health care in poor countries would cost up to 370 billion a year. A truly small sum to keep people fundamentally healthy. Malaria could be entirely eradicated with five to ten billion over ten to fifteen years.
What would the world look like if every child had free access to a basic education? Well, with 40 to 70 billion dollars a year, that’s entirely doable. Then there’s a calculation on education that would interest any economist. Every dollar invested in adults and girls learning to read and write generates an estimated tenfold return for economic output. The investment itself sits in the single-digit billions.
And then there are the big investments with even bigger savings potential: climate and energy. Reforestation and the restoration of ecosystems are estimated to cost about 300 billion a year. If that reduces or even prevents the immense damage from environmental disasters — how attractive is that?
Investing in the future, instead of gambling it away — why isn’t that simply a given?
These are constructive assignments, granted for the sake of an intact world.
Too expensive? Forgiving would be cheaper.
