I think it's useful to characterize the hundreds of widely-discussed, popularized problems, like AIDS and carbon dioxide pollution, in terms of a handful of root problem types like Information Problems and Population Problems.
In general, I think attacking problem roots is more effective than attacking problems. My guess is that if your objective is to solve specific problems, then working to address root problems is vastly more cost effective than actually funding solutions to specific problems. Installing telephone networks was a cheaper way to prevent robberies than increasing funding to police departments. Funding family planning programs may be a cheaper and more effective way to prevent species extinction than funding breeding programs for the duck-billed spotted salmon. On this page I offer definitions for four sample root problem types.
An information problem is a problem that would be greatly alleviated if only the people involved knew some basic facts. AIDS is partly an information problem. If everyone who had AIDS knew it, and if their partners also knew it, then the spread of AIDS might be somewhat reduced. Violent crime is partly an information problem. If every time a person was mugged, the victim could instantly communicate the identity of the mugger to the police, and to everybody else within a one mile radius, the number of muggings would be greatly reduced. Carbon dioxide pollution is not an information problem. Knowing where and when CO2 is produced does not help us to stop producing it. We know exactly what processes produce CO2, and yet the people of the world continue to burn wood, use electricity, and drive cars. Literacy, telephones, photocopiers, fax machines, computers, televisions, VCRs, and cameras all help to prevent information problems.
Tribalism problems are problems caused by racism, sexism, homophobia, nationalism, and the like. War and civil unrest are partly tribalism problems. Carbon dioxide pollution is not a tribalism problem. You can think of tribalism problems as those that would be solved if all the people in the world were identical clones. Things that help alleviate tribalism problems are travel, mutual economic dependence, education, and an atmosphere of open-mindedness and tolerance.
A population problem is one where the effect per person would be greatly reduced if there were fewer people. Sexism is not a population problem. If the world had a tenth as many people as it does, those remaining would be no less inclined to mistreat each other based on sex than they are now. Carbon dioxide pollution is a population problem. The earth has some natural ability to compensate for minor changes in atmospheric CO2 levels. If the world had a tenth as many people as it does we would produce a tenth as much CO2, which the earth might well accommodate with no threat of global warming. Most ecological problems are population problems. Population problems can be addressed by lowering the population (e.g. through voluntary family planning) and sometimes by consumer restraint or technological fixes like catalytic converters.
A compassion problem is a problem that would be greatly alleviated if everyone in the world cared enough about each other to work toward solving it. By this definition, war is a compassion problem. If we cared enough about each other we wouldn't fight wars. Dirty drinking water is a compassion problem. We could greatly alleviate this problem if we cared enough about the 1.2 billion people who don't have clean drinking water. Some people are worried the Earth may be hit by a giant asteroid. Protecting the earth from falling asteroids is not a compassion problem. There just isn't much we can do to stop giant asteroids, even if we all cared a lot about the problem and worked hard to prevent it. Almost every problem other than giant asteroids is a compassion problem.
| Exercise | Look back at the list of problems on the previous page. Try to identify the underlying root problems for each. Many of the problems listed there may actually have several roots. For example, the root problems underlying War might include Tribalism, Population and Compassion. Try to identify a few additional root problem types. |
The Bottom Line
Attacking roots may be the most efficient way to address problems.
When you read about a specific problem, think about what its
roots are and how to attack them.
