Global responsibility: The road to hell is paved with good intentions
Authors
Date
2013-06
Type
Conference Contribution - published
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Fields of Research
Abstract
Many agencies, driven by social responsibility are engaged in global aid work. This paper considers some of the impacts of that work and the barriers to acknowledge the full consequences of our good intentions. The spread of cultivation and population growth are leading to environmental deterioration. The result is a species swap as many species decline and replaced by soaring numbers of humans. This does not appear to result in increased life quality for humans with increasing numbers living below the poverty line. Three chains of causation from health care are followed. The first chain is currently favoured although the second is commonly found in many parts of Africa. The third chain considers the effect on wildlife. The paper suggests that social responsibility decision making may be prone to the same problems that affect other corporate decision making including institutional inertia, values, and cognitive biases.