Richer Nations Helping Poorer Ones

n the age of globalization, the rich and poor divide has grown into a chasm. Richer and more developed countries enjoy access to technology and a higher standard of living, whereas the poorer and less developed countries are struggling with poverty, malnutrition and lack of basic amenities.

This is where one might question whether the richer nations should help the poorer ones. The rich has many reasons why they should help the poorer nations, it portrays them in a good light, it will benefit them economically and politically, out of pure altruism, or even because it has been said that the rich nations have been exploiting the poorer nations and should now give back to them. However, the richer nations should only help to an extent whereby they do not neglect their own country, cause more hindrance than solving the poorer nation's problems The richer nations can assist the poorer ones by offering financial aid, medical aid, or by giving them expertise or the technology to improve their standard of living.

To begin, richer nations should help the poorer ones based purely on altruism. Altruism is a virtue in many cultures, traditions and religions. It is the act of giving unconditionally without expecting any form of material gain. As people in richer countries receive more education, they might feel the moral obligation to offer assistance to those that are less fortunate than them. Maslow's hierarchy of needs states that human beings are being motivated by unsatisfied needs, and that certain lower needs must be satisfied before higher needs can be. Hence, since their basic needs have already been met, they are more inclined to go on to satisfy further needs such as self-actualization of the world and doing their part to help others who are less well off than them. However, this is an idealistic way of thinking as pure altruism does not exist. Richer countries may help poorer countries because it promotes their national image among the international community,