Radical sustainability
The crucial aspect of the DRC’s operations (alongside many other developing countries) is that the government facilitates the corruption. Bureaucrats reduce the number of laws and inspections on companies, which allows for an efficient, low-cost and high-profit system, which creates more attractive revenues. Perhaps one of the more tragic symptoms of capitalism is its ability to make humanity selfish and driven by short-term monetary incentives. Developing countries are, of course, justified in rebuilding their economies – but is there a better solution than depleting natural resources? Could there be a way to massively reduce the development gap between the global north and south? Yes. Prioritizing environmental sustainability can pull these nations out of the cycle of multidimensional poverty. The current problem that developing nations face is the global north’s market dominance, as a result of which developing nations continue to rotate in a Ferris-wheel of economic inequality. The problem of the current system manifests in two key respects. Firstly, there is the issue of boom-and-bust economies. In the initial stages of the 2000s, Venezuela’s exported oil brought in huge profits and became the main engine of its economy; GDP soared. When the global oil markets crashed in 2014, Venezuela faced hyperinflation, recession and food shortages as a result of its over-reliance on oil. Although the country’s wealth had surged in the short-term – the ‘boom’ –, in the long-term, the trading of and reliance on one resource ended up being damaging for Venezuela – the ‘bust.’ More importantly, many nations which rely on resource extraction for their national wealth will inevitably run out of the resource that they are exploiting. By switching to newer income streams like environmental sustainability, many poorer countries may avoid a fatal ‘bust’ in the future. The second problem lies with low-paying jobs. Tragically, third-world nations often become trapped in supplying cheap labour to global markets, attracting corporations that prioritize cost over development. The state, desperate to attract foreign investment, will repress labour rights and shrink the minimal wage standards, fearing that higher costs will deter overseas corporations. The result? A perverse paradox. As a developing country’s low-skill manufacturing and exports grow, so does the entrenchment of its economic subservience. On the surface, the model creates jobs for thousands of workers, but low-paying jobs prevent long-term growth. Without higher wages and high-skill jobs, domestic industry remains weak owing to a lack of innovation and home-grown business, which results in a reliance on the west and global markets. Education, a key player of success, is also out of reach for workers who toil in subsistence-level jobs. Crucially, it leads to a cycle of poverty across generations, where the youth continue in the path of low pay in manufacturing. Consequently, developing nations continue to be victims of low taxation revenues, poverty and reliance on the global north. Prioritizing environmental sustainability provides a solution to problem of inequality. The question then becomes: what does it mean to facilitate radical sustainability? Crucially, it comes down to the diversification of the job market and redirecting money towards sustainability. There are two pillars to any mass-scale sustainability shift: renewable energy and protecting the environment. The west already leads the market for renewable energy, but the road to its completion has barely been laid out. Solar and wind nano grids are very suitable for the developing world, as they are small-scale community-owned systems which can be used in cities and rural areas, reducing the dependence on fossil fuels as well as powering domestic space. Further, the cross-pollination of excess energy in
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