Top 5 World Problems Ordered by an Aspiring Impact Sociologist

This is the third post following up on the original bug list, which led to the world's 10 biggest problems post dealing with issues and problems on different levels.  Today, after thinking about it some more, I will list the top 5 problems and spend more time outlining potential solutions with an emphasis on practical implementation; a "feasibility analysis" if you may.

This is just an attempt by an aspiring impact sociologist to rank the world's biggest problems and is always open to critique and debate.  I hope that we will continue to think about OUR problems so that we can begin to IMPLEMENT solutions that will benefit humanity at large.

Top 5 World Problems Ranked From Most Serious

1. The Prevalence of the Capitalist Cultural Hegemony

A gradual shift towards policies and attitudes to free capitalism from the clutches of regulation has to maximization of profit at all costs becoming becoming a societal norm.  The result has been the growing power, income, and wealth of capitalists, executives, and entrepreneurs - the ruling class - at the expense of everyone else starting from the middle class to the poorest of the poor.  One important note about the concept of cultural hegemony is that it pervades the consciousness of the individuals in society to such an extent that they come to accept and and even promote its message (in this case, capitalism is good for everyone) even though it is not beneficial for them.  This is accomplished through the promotion of capitalism using societal institutions such as education, politics, mass media, etc.  More details are provided in problem 1 of the world's biggest problem post.

2. The Globalization of Individualistic Culture

Individualism, which has been the dominant cultural paradigm of developed western countries is now being globalized.  The main issue, when everyone is pursuing his or her self-interest and their own conception of freedom and happiness, is that we become accountable to no one but one ourselves.  This may seem logical but we must realize that we do not live in our own silos.  We interact with others on a daily basis and just like a ripple spreads throughout the pond, our actions have an impact much greater than we could every imagine.  This inevitably leads to domination of the powerful and the oppression of the less fortunate.  More details are provided in problem 2 of the world's biggest problem post.

3. The Military Industrial Complex (MIC)

This is the insidious policy and monetary relationships interconnecting government, the military apparatus, and the arms industry that ever since the cold war has led to American involvement in multiple armed conflicts (i.e. Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan) and thousands of our soldiers dying or being injured along with enemy combatants and innocent civilians.  In the end, our credibility as a moral and just nation has been greatly compromised on the world stage, especially since the fall of the Soviet Union.  The MIC needs conflict to sustain itself, like a vampire needs blood, and so it insures that America is engaged in overt and, more often, covert conflicts at all times.  More details are provided in problem 5 of the world's biggest problem post.

4. Prejudice, Discrimination, and Institutional Racism

Living lives focused on ourselves, in perpetual competition with each other, and without an absolute accountability to anyone, we continue to be confronted with prejudice, discrimination, and institutional racism to this day - over 150 years after the Civil War officially abolished slavery in our nation.  The examples are everywhere plain as daylight.  Only those purposefully blind to reality are unwilling to acknowledge them.  More details are provided in problem 6 of the world's biggest problem post.

5. Toxic Stress

Human beings are destroying each other due to greed, self-interest, and resulting conflicts but they are also destroying the environment and threatening the very planetary ecosystem that sustains life.  Taking all of this into account, I am listing toxic stress as the fifth biggest problem because, to me, it symbolizes our self-destructive behavior more than anything.

The impact of toxic stress is pervasive starting as early as with a fetus growing in a mother’s womb then extending to early childhood adversely affecting mental and physical growth progressing throughout the course of a lifespan (i.e. cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, asthma, depression) and eventually passing genetically from one generation to the next.  Toxic stress is triggered by sustained exposure to trauma (especially in childhood) such as witnessing or bearing the brunt of physical, emotional, or sexual abuse, exploitation or extreme poverty.  If we destroy ourselves, our children, and our future generations in this manner, how can we ever solve our problems and look after our environment?  More details are provided in problem 7 of the world's biggest problem post.

Top 5 Solutions Ranked From Most Practical

1. Toxic Stress Solution

The solution to toxic stress is the most practical because we love our children so the dangers of toxic stress will resonate more universally than other problems on this list and also because approaches to the solution are already being implemented.  The American Academy of Pediatrics is advocating a public health approach to toxic stress that uses an eco-bio-developmental (EBD) framework to train pediatricians and other healthcare professionals to go beyond the clinic focusing on early and community intervention.  The rest of us should focus on learning about toxic stress and spreading the word in our communities guiding friends and family so we can help identify those who are afflicted as soon as possible and encourage EBD oriented treatment strategies.

2. The Military Industrial Complex (MIC) Solution

Common sense dictates that the more we spend on military the less we will have to spend on the economy, public welfare, the environment, and the multitude of problems adversely impacting American residents.  We must galvanize support for and elect public servants, at all levels of government, that are committed to ending American involvement in conflict.  Let us be very clear that America is the strongest and most well positioned nation in the world, especially when it comes to border security.  Two enormous oceans protect our eastern and western coasts and two friendly neighbors reside on our northern and southern borders.  The threats to our safety does not correlate with the size of our military compared to the rest of the world.

3. Prejudice, Discrimination, and Institutional Racism Solution

This is a problem of the heart that manifests in actions.  As a nation, we have made great strides against prejudice, discrimination, and institutional racism.  Education, media, and popular culture continue to focus on this problem reshaping some people's feelings and compelling others to bury theirs.  The 2016 republican candidate pool is not helping the cause based on their hateful rhetoric but the reaction against it shows that things are moving in the positive direction.  We must continue on this path and elect the type of leaders who will bring us together not push us apart.

4. The Globalization of Individualistic Culture Solution

The way towards a solution is to take the best of individualistic culture and meld it with the best from collectivist culture.  We must also focus on our spirituality recognizing that material goods and the pursuit of money does not guarantee happiness.  We must learn that the balance between a healthy body and healthy soul is the path towards peace and contentment.  The way to achieving this is to find our spiritual base, identify a higher authority that we can be accountable to, and actively work to put our collective good ahead of our self interests.

5. The Prevalence of the Capitalist Cultural Hegemony Solution

This is the biggest problem on my list and the most difficult to solve.  The way towards a solution is to focus on ourselves (see solution 4 above) working to balance our self-interest with what is good for all.  Only then will we be able to reform the capitalist ethic so that profit maximization is balanced with social good and free market is balanced by regulation that truly protects all consumers and the environment alike.