Problem severity

Something I’ve struggled with explaining to people around me for much of my life is my view on problem/situation severity. I believe that while problem severity is indeed relative to a person/society’s circumstances, beneath that relativity lies perhaps a more objective scale.

Examples (these are broad-brushstroke examples) that I’ve tried to explain to folks:

  • A person living a life under the poverty line in a place like Bangladesh or the Democratic Republic of the Congo likely has a more severe life than a person under the poverty line in the USA

  • Black and brown (and really, minority) peoples’ struggles in life, especially in Western societies, are greater than those of white people.

I’d say broadly that these non-Western poverty conditions are tougher than Western ones.

I’d say broadly that these non-Western poverty conditions are tougher than Western ones.

Most of the pushback I got (from highly intelligent, critically thinking people, mind you) was that these things are relative. “A poor person anywhere is still a poor person.” “Everyone struggles.” “There’s no use in labeling one as a ‘privileged’ group’.”

As recent events in the US have made clear, there are observable forces in society that provide a common-denominator-backdrop for our lives. In the case of black and brown struggles in Western societies, things like systemic racism, a culture of police brutality, and the effects of imperialism play a role. To deny this is to strip away investigative capability into the nuances and factors that could uncover why problem severity indeed varies. I’m glad the tide is turning.