- Main ethical problems around the world
- Existence of diverse cultural and moral systems
- Globalization of poverty
- Inequality in access to healthcare
- Absence of political freedoms
- Increase in terrorism and wars
- Permanence of the ecological crisis
- Discrimination
- Animal cruelty
- Attacks against bioethics
- Increasing use of artificial intelligence
- References
The ethical problems of the current world have successfully crossed different barriers and are increasingly present in social spaces such as families and schools, even breaking into the great spheres of politics and the global economy.
With the emergence of new technologies, the advancement of science and the constant trend towards consumerism and obtaining material wealth, human beings have gradually lost their personal, work and especially social ethics.
The way in which people act with themselves and with those around them, as well as their rights and responsibilities today reflect a great absence of moral conscience.
Ethics encompasses a whole set of principles, values and beliefs of a moral nature that each human being contains within and that are responsible for determining their course of action in the different areas of their daily life.
Ethics is that little unconscious voice that points out what is right and wrong and defines for each individual how to live a good life. However, despite the existence of an ethical code of conduct, today the many ethical problems posed by global society are innumerable.
Whether in the personal, academic, political, economic, health, technological or even environmental spheres, ethical problems continue to emerge with great force and the list below is a clear reflection of this.
Main ethical problems around the world
Existence of diverse cultural and moral systems
Commonly called the problem of cultural relativism, it mentions how ethical principles vary from one culture to another.
One of the main existing ethical problems is that there is no single definition regarding what is ethical for each culture.
Just as some societies tend to worship multiple gods, practice polygamy and not consume some animals because they are considered sacred, Western beliefs, for example, have a different perspective of perceiving the world.
Globalization of poverty
The advancement of new technologies and globalization have managed to connect the world like never before, however, they have increased social inequalities and concentrated wealth in the hands of a small part of the population.
Hence, while some have high levels of quality of life, others still suffer from basic deficiencies such as lack of drinking water, hunger and education.
Today half of the world's population, approximately 3 billion people, live on less than $ 2.50 a day, while some 22,000 children die daily from extreme poverty, as indicated by the Fund for the United Nations for Children.
Inequality in access to healthcare
As the World Health Organization mentions, every human being should have the right to enjoy the maximum degree of health that can be achieved and have an environment that allows them to take care of themselves physically and mentally.
Hence, inequality in access to medical care is seen as an ethical problem of great magnitude.
According to the Legatum Prosperity Index, the best healthcare systems in the world are found in Canada, Qatar, France, Norway, New Zealand, Belgium, Germany, Israel, Hong Kong, Sweden, the Netherlands, Japan, Switzerland, Singapore and Luxembourg.
What happens with the rest? Without a doubt, equity and social justice are lacking.
Absence of political freedoms
Despite the fact that democracy has managed to impose itself as the best system of government in the world, today many citizens lack freedom of expression and association, security and access to quality public institutions.
In the same way that many governments continue to carry out corrupt practices regardless of the serious ethical and economic consequences that this entails for their citizens.
The last most recent case of corruption has been reflected in Brazil where bribery, money laundering, thousands of jobless people and protests are proof of the growing lack of ethics in politics.
However, the International Transparency Index for 2016 showed that only Denmark and the United Kingdom, and Uruguay and Chile in Latin America obtained excellent results.
Increase in terrorism and wars
Attacking the lives of other people justifying doing so continues to be the fundamental premise of terrorist groups and some politicians, where the former base their actions on religious principles, and the latter in the search for global security.
However, hundreds of thousands of citizens continue to be victims of such practices and attacks. The constant loss of civilians has become a serious ethical problem today.
Permanence of the ecological crisis
As Hutt (2016) points out, greenhouse gas emissions have increased by 80% since the 1970s, just as concentrations of these gases in the atmosphere are higher today than ever in history.
This crisis points to the great lack of environmental ethics that citizens currently have, since all the problems that the planet presents today such as pollution, global warming, acid rain, deforestation and the greenhouse effect have been caused by lifestyle controlling.
The ecological crisis is more latent today than ever, and an ethical conscience that seeks to contribute positively to the environment is necessary.
Discrimination
Although much has been achieved in the area of human rights, racism, sexism and xenophobia are still present in society.
Rejection for reasons of race, identity or culture, in the same way discrimination due to the preference of certain sexual orientations, or hatred of foreigners, continue to be important ethical problems today.
The refugee crisis in Europe represents a good example of this, where the principle of humanitarian assistance has been put aside and ethical principles have been left behind, with only national security being privileged.
Animal cruelty
Today, despite the long road that animal rights organizations have traveled, much remains to be done.
Hundreds of animals are used each year for scientific, military and sexual experiments, with the majority of the animals being euthanized or injured.
Despite the achievements of zero animal cruelty campaigns, numerous companies continue to use defenseless animals in inhumane testing.
Ethics and respect for the life of every being, still constitutes an ethical problem that not everyone sees with great relevance.
Attacks against bioethics
Although there is already a whole branch of study that analyzes the ethical and moral perspective of medicine and biology, in vitro fertilization and genetic manipulation constitute serious ethical problems of today.
The search for the perfect human being and the alteration of their genes in order to improve the human species by modifying the genetic heritage of a living being, has been seen as a crime against human dignity.
Likewise, issues such as abortion, birth control or the right to euthanasia constitute great ethical dilemmas that as science advances the more are questioned.
Increasing use of artificial intelligence
Technology has managed to open new horizons, in the same way that it has connected thousands of people by breaking the border barriers of space.
However, the use of robotics and the incorporation of machines in industries and companies with the purpose of making production effective is increasingly being observed, a fact that is generating losses of employment and valuable human capital.
The increasing use of artificial intelligence is seen as a great ethical problem since the human being has taken a back seat and millions of jobs will be lost.
References
- (2014). Ethics: a general introduction. Retrieved on July 6, 2017 from bbc.co.uk
- (2016). The countries that improved the most and worsened in terms of corruption according to Transparency International. Retrieved on July 6, 2017 from bbc.com
- Bossmann, J. (2016). Top 9 ethical issues in artificial intelligence. Retrieved on July 7, 2017 from World Economic Forum weforum.org
- Brown, D. (2017). The Ethical Dimensions of Global Environmental Issues. American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved on July 7, 2017 from amacad.org
- Hutt, R. (2016). What are the 10 biggest global challenges? Retrieved on July 7, 2017 from World Economic Forum weforum.org
- Muñoz, A. (2017). These are the best healthcare systems in the world. Retrieved on July 7, 2017 from ticbeat.com
- World Health Organization. (2015). Health and human rights. Retrieved on July 7, 2017 from who.int
- Shah, A. (2013). Poverty Facts and Stats. Retrieved on July 7, 2017 from globalissues.org
- Tepedino, N. (2017). What is ethics? An answer for the classroom. Retrieved on July 6, 2017 from generals.usb.ve
- The Ethics Center. (2017). what is ethics? Retrieved on July 6, 2017 from ethics.org.au
- The Millennium Project. (2009). Global Challenges for Humanity. Retrieved on July 7, 2017 from millennium-project.org
- World Health Organization. (2017). Global Health Ethics. Retrieved on July 7, 2017 from who.int.