Should we care just as much about people in other countries as we do about people in our own country?
Realizing that we should care just as much about people in other countries than people in our own is a crucial ingredient for societal development. A plethora of examples from the worlds of business, politics and history categorically prove that caring more about our own people can prove to be catastrophic.
In the renowned 1987 case of Chevron ,an American petroleum company, it was Chevron’s direct lack of care for Nigerian citizens that caused a rise in oil prices for Americans. Chevron was known for mistreating Nigerian workers in its Nigerian oil extraction facilities in comparison to how American workers were treated in Chevron facilities in the U.S.A. Chevron would force Nigerian workers to work tedious hours and expose them to toxic substances such as arsenic while not paying them anything near to what american workers were payed. Chevron justified its actions by claiming that this would ensure low oil prices for Americans even though the Nigerian government repeatedly urged Chevron to cease exploiting and abusing Nigerian workers. This eventually led the Nigerian government to revokes Chevrons oil extraction permits in 1989 reducing the global output and supply of oil by over one hundred thousand barrels a day.This caused global oil prices to rise significantly harming u.s residents. Hence, Chevron’s actions undoubtedly prove that we should care equally about people as the price rise that u.s residents faced were much higher than if Chevron treated its Nigerian workers properly.
Another relevant example would be Saddam Hussein’s complete lack of empathy for Kuwaiti citizens in the 1989 Gulf war. Saddam Hussein , the past leader of Iraq, invaded the defenseless state of Kuwait ruthlessly on September 2nd in order steal Kuwait’s oil. Saddam ordered his soldiers to kill any non Iraqi citizen in Kuwait no matter their age, gender or political affiliation while treating Iraqis very well. This led to the massacre of thousands of innocents Kuwaitis who previously did not mind Saddam Hussein to take over Kuwait but now despised him and led to the formation of an armed grouped that eventually toppled Saddam Hussein’s rule in Kuwait with the aid of U.S forces. This example therefor undeniably proves that caring about people is necessary as Saddam Hussein could have easily taken over Kuwait if he had cared equally about Kuwaiti and Iraqi citizens.
Finally, the U.S generous economic aid (Marshall plan) to the allied forces people after world war 2 that caused the U.S to be one of the greatest military powers today. The allied forces had just defeated Nazi Germany and Europe’s people as a whole were in a critical situation. Europeans countries pleaded the U.S for aid but at the same time, Americans had just experienced a stock market crash and lost a considerable amount of money. This meant that the U.S government had to make a choice wether to help its own people or people in Europe. The U.S decided to split the fund it intended to spend on the stock market in half in order to spend the other half to aid people in Europe. This resulted in Europe and its people to be able to reconstruct themselves and help the U.S.A in all of its future wars. Hence, this example ultimately proves that caring as much about our own people and people in other countries is crucial as the U.S reaped huge benefits.
After a careful analysis of Chevrons 1987 case in Nigeria, Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait and the Marshall plan, it is without a shadow of doubt that caring just as much about people in other countries than people in our own country is indeed necessary. Not caring equally can prove deadly.