Author: Sarah Slater

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New Honors Program for Transfers and Second Years

This fall Houghton College will introduce a new Honors Program specifically targeted at second year and transfer students. Called Scholastica, the program is aimed at transfer and second year students. The rigorous program will combine the Bible and Theology requirements to form one intensive course that aims to challenge students. Scholastica is intended to provide the “same sort of challenge and radical development that is the purpose of our first year honors programs,” said Benjamin Lipscomb, director of honors.

The committee in charge of designing Scholastica chose Bible and Theology as the disciplines to pair together because they are disciplines that “community college students, even those that come in with an A.A., haven’t satisfied when they got here” according to Lipscomb. According to Jonathan Case, professor of theology, this specific pair of disciplines is also a natural fit because the lessons learned about interpretation “has application value far beyond the boundaries of this course”.

Taught by Case and Sarah Derck, professor of old testament, the program will take the form of a six credit class, which will meet five days a week. The class will proceed chronologically through Biblical and Christian history. The program is structured around the history of statements of faith and scriptural interpretation, both in Jewish history and Christian history, Lipscomb said.

The goal of the class is to allow students to “go deeper into the interaction between scripture, history, and theological reflection than they would ordinarily have the chance to do in either Biblical Literature or Introduction to Christianity,” according to Case. This will include extensive reading of the primary sources.

According to Case, Derck will be the primary teacher for the first part of the class, taking the lead in teaching from “ancient Israel… to the primitive Christian movement.” Case will be the primary instructor from the primitive Christian movement until the present. However, Case stated, there will hopefully be “a lot of interaction in the classroom” between the two professors.

Scholastica has been designed to be a “very intense program,” Case said. Current students interested in applying to join the program should be interested in taking “the opportunity to go deep, and to go through this together” with a group of other students interested in the same topics.

The idea for the program was the realization that transfer students are an increasing proportion of students entering Houghton. Lipscomb, saw a need for a program targeting these students as well as second year students who “maintained a 3.5 [GPA] or above their first semester at Houghton; people who came and showed that they can do really excellently”.

The application and selection process will be as rigorous as the rest of the class. Recruitment for the program has already begun. For this introductory year, students waitlisted from last year’s honors program will be given the opportunity to join the program. According to Cindy Austin, Admission Counselor in charge of transfer students, they hope to interview about 50 students, and hope to have “the first cohort be 20-25 students”.

One of the major sources for students in Scholastica is expected to be community colleges, like Monroe Community College (MCC), that already have a strong relationship with Houghton College’s Admission Office. MCC in particular has a “really thriving honors program for their students,” who hopefully will be interested in continuing that challenging academic curriculum at Houghton.

Scholastica is expected to be a program that will allow transfer students entering Houghton as well as high-achieving current students to have a “rigorous and communal experience” that will make their Houghton career “as good as it can be,” Lipscomb said.

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Looking Towards the Powerless

Last weekend, I and a group of eleven other Houghton students attended the tenth annual Faith and International Development Conference at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I’ve been thinking for the past month or so about what it means to be graduating with a degree in International Development. International Development is a relatively new area of study which means that there isn’t one established way to think about it or really any major areas of agreement at all. For every issue there are at least three sides, and the literature is filled with vehement arguments. Learning about development entails learning a lot of different ways of looking at the world and evaluating the arguments for each of them.

Sarah SlaterThe framework used by a lot of Christian development practitioners is known as transformational development; it is the framework typically used by the speakers at FIDC Calvin. Transformational development, as defined by Bryant Myers in Walking with the Poor, looks at poverty as an economic, relational, and spiritual phenomenon, not only present in the lives of those who suffer from resource poverty but in the lives of those who are rich. And I think the transformational development framework should be used by any Christians who are interested in engaging in any way with the world, which should be all Christians.

Fundamentally, transformational development is concerned with seeing the world as it really is, not the way we want it to be. The opposite of transformational development is willful blindness to reality for your own benefit. President Mullen, in her chapel message at the beginning of the week, talked about how many of the problems in our world have been caused by the self-deception of those in power. At one point near the beginning of the talk, she said: “…Sooner or later, this pattern of not calling things what they really are stops being a matter of the mind… and starts being a matter of the heart.” Practitioners of transformational development are not simply witnesses to the process but are themselves transformed.

At the conference this past weekend, the theme was “Healthy Humility: Learning to Learn,” particularly from the people whose perspective we typically ignore. One of the best sessions was a devotional by Dr. Ravi Jayakaran, a member of the Lausanne Movement and pioneer of participatory development. His message was taken from the story of Simon the Pharisee and the woman who anointed Jesus’ feet. Jayakaran stressed the importance of being in a posture of orienting ourselves to the marginalized. The passage he referenced in Luke 7 reads that “Jesus looked at the woman and spoke to Simon”.

Sarah_quoteThis is what we are all called to do as Christians. We are called to be a prophetic voice in society, aligning ourselves with the needs of the marginalized rather than the desires of the powerful. Liberation theology, born out of the experience of the Catholic Church in Latin America, has sometimes been controversial but it emphasizes something that Western Christianity is in danger of missing. One of the key elements in liberation theology is God’s preferential option for the poor—our God is a God who looks at the poor when speaking to the powerful.

I don’t mean to suggest in any way that the international development industry has always or even often aligned itself with the cause of the oppressed. That is unfortunately and sadly untrue—counterexamples are too numerous to number. USAID has a long history of granting aid for reasons of foreign policy that has been used by the elite members of developing societies for their own benefit.

I do think though that at its best a Christian theology of international development has the right view of the world. Listening to the speakers at the conference—Kurt Ver Beek from the Association for a More Just Society in Honduras; Pauline Muchina from the Future African Leaders Project; Scott Sabin from Plant With Purpose; Michael Woolcock from the World Bank—I was inspired by their clear passion for righting injustice whether through environmental interventions, the empowerment of women, or the promotion of a legal system that works for rather than against everyone.

As a graduating senior looking toward the rest of my life, I want to be one of the people that looks to the powerless rather than to the powerful. I want to give preference to the marginalized rather than deference to the celebrated. I want to see the world the way it really is.

“And when the saints go marching in / I want to be one of them”.

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Walters to Retire After Twenty Years of Teaching

Longtime professor, Michael Walters, will be retiring from his current position as Associate Dean of the Area of Religion and Global Service and Chair of the Department of Biblical Studies, Theology, and Philosophy, bringing to an end a career on the faculty at Houghton spanning two decades.

Walters2CMYKWalters first came to Houghton as the pastor of Houghton Wesleyan Church in 1982, remarking “I originally came thinking it was going to be for one year, and I still haven’t left. So it was kind of a surprise.” In 1995, the college asked Walters to join the faculty as a professor in what is now the Department of Biblical Studies, Theology, and Philosophy. During his time here, as well being named Chair and Associate Dean, he has assisted with the hiring of faculty like professor Jonathan Case, the establishment of the Woolsey lectures, and the recent accreditation of the theology major. Additionally, Walters created the Spiritual Formation class which has been “probably [his] favorite course over the years”.

Kristina Lacelle-Peterson, fellow theology professor, remarked on Walters’ “amazing service” to the college. She particularly noted his importance as an “inspirational” mentor in the ministerial program, which is “a service that this college offers to the Wesleyan Church in particular, but offers in general to students who are preparing for ministry.” The ministry program at Houghton is important, she said, because it is “central to the faith development of most Christians to have strong preaching and pastoral care and fellowship and worship” at their churches.

Building relationships with other faculty members and students was one of the most rewarding parts of teaching at Houghton for Walters, who said it was “a wonderful thing to watch [students] develop… and to know that you had just a small part helping to form them”. Former student, Veronica Gerace, said she admired Walters’ wisdom and stated that he teaches theology in a “very clear and concise way.” She also said she used the lessons she learned during the class to answer the questions of summer camp kids she worked with during her time on the Houghton travelling ministry team last summer.

According to Lacelle-Peterson, the ministry courses Walters currently teaches will be distributed among the Biblical Studies and Theology faculty, all of whom are ordained and who have worked in churches. The department is currently undergoing a search for a new Associate Dean as well as a Chair of the department. Any positions will be hired internally. She stated both of these topics are an “on-going conversation” between members of the department and Academic Dean Linda Mill-Woolsey.

Historically the Associate Dean and Department Chair have been the same position, but Lacelle-Peterson stated because of the re-alignment of the academic area to include the department of intercultural studies and world languages, it is possible that will not be the case going forward. Because of Houghton’s position as a college in the Wesleyan church, there are certain requirements that have to be fulfilled regarding representation of Wesleyans in leadership positions of the college, particularly in the Department of Biblical Studies, Theology, and Philosophy. This is intended to “maintain Wesleyan identity in the school,” said Lacelle-Peterson.

Walters said retirement will allow him more time to spend time with family, including his children and grandchildren. His immediate plans are to stay in the area. Despite not initially intending to live in Western New York for so many years of his career, Walters remarked, “I obviously love this institution and have been shaped and formed by it and this community in a variety of ways.”

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Operation Christmas Child

It has been hard to avoid the sight of Operation Christmas Child boxes around campus the last few weeks. In years past, I have been the one filling them with dollar store toothbrushes, coloring books, school supplies, dolls, socks, etc. This was a project undertaken by countless years of youth groups as well as within my own family.

This year I haven’t.

Sarah SlaterI was considering why I had become so uncomfortable with the images of smiling children with their shoeboxes of toys, and I think I realized why. This semester, for my senior seminar, I’ve been studying a myriad of nonprofit organizations and the different ways they give back. My concern about Operation Christmas Child is simply this: that it tries to do a lot of things, and it doesn’t do any of them particularly well.

What are you trying to achieve with your shoebox of gifts? If you are trying to have a personal connection with a person on the other side of the world, sponsor a child or find a pen-pal. For the past few years I have been writing to a Kenyan middle-schooler through Empowering Lives International. Her name is Gloria, and she wants to be a professor at a university. I have no doubt in her capability to do so. But the reason I know she can achieve her ambitions is because we have a (limited) relationship. I have written to her and received responses over time. The recipient of your shoebox, on the other hand, is unknown to you, and you are equally anonymous to her.

The level of monitoring appropriate to various types of programs is frequently debated in the international development community. One approach is known as outcome-based aid, which according to the definition used by the World Bank attempts to tie disbursement of aid to specific results achieved by the recipient of the aid. This approach to development has received some pushback due to the intangible, long-term character of many interventions.

It is even more difficult to hold mission-based programs to standards because of the non-coercive element that should be inherent in preaching the gospel. It should never be a condition that someone need to become a Christian in order to participate in a program. On the other hand, how can we know if a given program is doing anything? One standard to look at is the impact a given program will have over the long term. Over the years, it has become apparent that giving out free things tends to have a net negative effect, destroying the ability of local entrepreneurs and farmers to make a living.

Of course Christians run mission hospitals, schools, feeding centers, water access programs and many other sorts of projects around the world. But there is a clear difference between showing the love of Christ through sacrificial service, and giving people things in exchange for listening to the gospel. The one is in the tradition of the disciples; the other is in the tradition of American consumerism.

Mediocrity is not something we accept readily in most aspects of our lives. When it comes to international development and Christian mission, though, it sometimes seems like good intentions are good enough. But to paraphrase blogger Jamie Wright, good intentions do not relieve us of our responsibility to engage carefully with the world. Part of responsible engagement is taking the time to think through what you are supporting. If it were your sister in need, would you prefer her to receive a single box of gifts at Christmas? Or would you wish instead for school sponsorship and medical care, or the love of a pastor or missionary in her own community?

It’s amazing that you feel called to participate in the spread of the good news. The last thing I would ever want to do is discourage that impulse. And if Operation Christmas Child is something you’ve thought through and truly believe in, I can’t find fault with that.

What I can do, though, is encourage you to carefully consider what you are doing when you fill that box with a washcloth, a ball, soap, crayons. And think if there is a different way you could achieve your goal of encouraging school attendance, good hygiene, a happy childhood, or the spread of the gospel.

Operation Christmas Child is not the worst thing a person could do to show love at Christmas. But I would argue that it is far from the best.

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Broken Greenway Trail Runs Through Houghton

The Genesee Valley Greenway trail, which runs between Rochester and Hinesdale, south of Cuba, is closed in the section that goes through Houghton. Though students and community members run, walk, and bike on the Houghton section of the Greenway daily the interruptions prevent them from connecting to the rest of the trail.

The Greenway is a park originating from the land formerly occupied by area canals and railroads. Described as “an open space corridor” by the New York State Park Service, it is intended to be used for walking, hiking, and biking, and other outdoor recreation. It also has a crucial role in conservation, allowing organisms to travel on an uninterrupted wild space throughout Western New York.

Kristina Shoepfer, park manager for the Greenway, said that the land passed through several hands before becoming a state park. “The Genesee Valley Greenway follows the old Genesee Valley Canal and later, the Rochester Branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad. The railroad eventually sold the property to RG&E [Rochester Gas and Electric], who later sold the property to New York State for use as a recreational trail.” Because of the long history of the property, the Greenway runs past pieces of regional history, including ruins of stone locks, culverts, and historic inns such as the Yard of Ale and the National Hotel. One section near Black Creek, NY runs past areas of the canal which are still full of water, allowing trail users to imagine the canal in its heyday.

GreenwayTrailCMYKThe Friends of the Genesee Valley Greenway (FOGVG), a local nonprofit organization, in partnership with the state park system, attempts to promote and care for the Greenway to users of the trail. The Friends have brought more than $4 million in grants to the Greenway to develop it further, and often run events to promote and care for the trail. They also provide information about the length of the trail for potential users.

According to FOGVG there are several areas of the trail that are currently closed for use. One of the areas that is currently closed, according to the trail guide found on the FOGVG website, includes the section that goes through Houghton. Shoepfer pointed out that the trail nearest Houghton has a few obstacles that prevent it from connecting it to the rest of the trail. North of Houghton, “a bridge is needed to cross the creek adjacent to the Houghton soccer fields” while to the south, “there is a RG&E substation located on what used to be the old rail bed (and what would have been the path of the Greenway),” she said. Beyond these interruptions, the trail is maintained as it continues north to Rochester and south past Cuba.

“Having the Greenway connected in Houghton would be an asset to the college and community” for several reasons, Shoepfer said, as it would provide increased recreational opportunities over the length of the trail for activities including hiking, biking, snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and horseback-riding. Shoepfer also suggested that for students who currently run along Route 19, having the Greenway connected would allow for a safer alternative to running along the road.

The RVER Group, or Regional Ventures in Economic Revitalization, stated that one of its goals for the near future is to refurbish the park in the town of Houghton. Helping to connect the section of the Genesee Valley Greenway that runs through Houghton to the rest of the path would be a related goal worth pursuing.

The Greenway is a feature of Houghton that deserves to be more well-known and utilized. With a few improvements, the Genesee Valley Greenway could “stimulate business and tourism for the local community and benefit the community as a whole,” Shoepfer said.

For more information, including trail maps and updates on events, visit the Friends of the Genesee Valley Greenway website at fogvg.org, or the New York State Park website at nysparks.com

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Conversations About Race Continue

In response to the “Shades of Black” incident that took place in February, and in order to further campuswide education on the topic of race, Student Life and Spiritual Life will be hosting several dinner discussion panels before the end of the semester to continue the conversation on race at Houghton. According to Rob Pool,vice president of student life, the intent behind the events is for students to come to a fuller understanding of “where people are coming from individually” in order to help “shape a better community picture” on Houghton’s campus.

Screen Shot 2014-03-01 at 12.06.30 PMMike Jordan, dean of the chapel, stated that while it would be difficult to coordinate too many events before the end of the semester, “we’d like events to continue into the fall.” Jordan also said that he was “working hard to bring in speakers to chapel next year who will be able to speak to the realities that divide white Christians and Christians of color.”

According to the Community Covenant, which all students sign, the Houghton community pledges to “seek to be a community of inclusion… [and] joyfully celebrate one another, rejoicing in our uniqueness, diversity, environment, heritage and calling.” The Covenant also condemns “discrimination and prejudice (whether of race, gender, ethnicity or socioeconomic class).”

After the Shades of Black display, which showcased the stories of African and African-American students of varied backgrounds, was vandalized in February, Student Life took action to identify the person responsible—an alum of Houghton. That evening, Greg Bish, Director of Student Programs, gathered students who had been involved in planning and who were featured in the display for a discussion. One of the key pieces of information that emerged from this dialogue, according to Pool, was that “those who were victimized should not be the ones tapped to help solve or address it” but that “it really needed to be an institutional response.” The diversity events that will be occurring are a direct response to those prior events/

Pool stated that while it is “the student’s responsibility to learn, to grow, to discuss, to grow and to change,” the college has “a major role” in planning events and providing resources and forums at which education on race-related topics can occur. Jordan echoed that concern, stating that while the college is seeking to be “very open to student input, especially the input of students of color,” the college is simultaneously trying to avoid making students feel “if anything’s going to get done, they have to do it”. Spiritual Life’s role in this process should extremely important as well, because “Making room for each other, listening to each other, not jumping to conclusions, finding ways to live peaceably together–these are essential [Gospel] things”, Jordan said.

The defacing of the Shades of Black was described by Pool as “eye-opening” to a “lack of understanding among some of our students,” as the person responsible was an “an outgrowth of the experience here in this community” while other students responded with “gross ignorance” to the fact of the privilege white students experience.

Jordan stated that one of the important things he learned was “how very important it is to mourn with those who mourn.” Jordan also said that that when someone has been deeply hurt “the Gospel doesn’t call us to defend ourselves, nor to lecture the person about why their pain is illegitimate.” As a Christian liberal arts college, it is important that we have continue to explore “each other’s stories about what the Gospel does for us; and students from a dominant white culture need to listen attentively to the stories of non-white Christians even when it’s a bit jarring to them,” Jordan said.

For those not personally affected by the incident but who condemned it and the attitudes who produced it, Pool recommended continuing to speak out in support of their fellow students who were hurt. He commended those who responded with “with genuine, visible expressions of support” for their fellow students and friends after the defacing of the Shades of Black display. Jordan called for bravery on the part of white students who may have been “reluctant or unwilling to see if they actually had something to learn from the experience,” saying that the Houghton community needs to have “the humility to listen to others’ pain and examine our own hearts.”

According to Pool, the freshman class this year has the highest percentage of racially diverse students in Houghton’s history; at present, the incoming first year class for the fall is set to surpass that record.

 

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New Ambulance in the Works for Fire Department

The Houghton Volunteer Fire Department is in the process of buying a new ambulance, an expensive purchase, but one the department considers necessary.

AmbulanceThe fire department’s emergency medical service has close ties with the Houghton community. Of its fifty members, a majority are students. Access to an ambulance service is both reassuring for parents and students as well as required for some equestrian and sporting events. According to Mae Stadelmaier, graduate of the class of 2009, ambulance captain and president of the fire department, we “offer the best standard of care possible… not only for the community but also for the college”.

The new ambulance, which has already been ordered and is currently being manufactured, will be financed to pay for the $160,000 purchase price. Stadelmaier said that it will hopefully be ready for use by June. Currently, the fire department is using a loaner ambulance due to the mechanical problems of the department’s former, much older ambulance.

Ray Parlett, director of security on campus, stated that those mechanical problems are the major reason that the fire department is seeking to replace it. Parlett has been a volunteer for about twenty-five total years, over a period of time since the 1980s, and has been a firefighter as well as an ambulance driver over the years.

In the past few years there have been “some expensive repairs” to fix a variety of problems. One year ago the ambulance needed a “new rear transaxle” and some brake work done which cost well over $3,000. Recently, the ambulance also had over $1,000 in engine work done, attempting to fix some potential electrical issues. One of the problems, according to Parlett, is that the Volunteer Fire Department does not know exactly what is wrong with the engine. One speculation is that the oil pump is failing, but as Parlett said “We’re looking at a fairly major repair…and we don’t know what’s wrong”.

Ambulances take a lot of stress. In addition to the actual miles driven, the ambulance will sit and idle at a fire call. It is important that it stay warm and ready to leave immediately if necessary—but this does take a toll on an engine. So, while the ambulance has driven about 110,000 miles, Parlett says that the amount of hours on the engine is likely considerably more than that. The current ambulance also has some rust problems.

These three problems taken together make acquiring a new ambulance a priority of the Houghton Volunteer Fire Department. “It’s got a lot of use,” Parlett said, adding that in the time he has volunteered for the Fire Department there have been several different ambulances.

The Houghton Fire Department is run on a completely volunteer basis. Only recently have they begun charging patient insurance companies. These fees barely cover the cost of rides. All EMTs, ambulance drivers, and firefighters are not paid. Why do they do it? As Parlett said, “I like helping people… and it’s a really good opportunity to do that.” Stadelmaier reiterated his point—“EMS has always been a part of my life…I absolutely love serving this community”.

The Houghton Volunteer Fire Department provides a needed service for the Houghton Community. For students, faculty and staff, and other community members who want to support the work they do, there will be a spaghetti dinner fundraiser on April 4.

 

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College Expects Tuition Increase

The cost of attending Houghton next year is set to increase by three percent, bringing the total to approximately $36,660. According to David Smith, vice president of finance, the decision to raise tuition is a “board/trustee level decision” and what the trustees recommended was a three percent increase of room, board, and tuition. Data obtained from past Houghton College catalogs reveals that tuition has increased approximately 46% since the 2000-2001 school year.

moolahHowever, it is not only Houghton making these changes—colleges across the nation are raising tuition. According to President Mullen, data compiled by Dale Wright, Houghton’s chief business officer, reveals that out of a group of seventy-five Christian colleges and universities, “only five have a lower tuition increase over the last three years… Our three-year change in the cost of attendance has been between 8-9% and the average was 13.8%.” Smith commented on the increase in comparison to similar Christian schools, saying  that “although we’ve gone up, more than I would like, we’ve certainly gone up a lot less than our competition.”

There are multiple reasons behind the tuition increase. According to President Mullen, the main reason is that “the basic costs of doing operations in a college go up every year,” such as increases in utilities costs, increases in healthcare costs, increases in local taxes, and “Sodexo costs [also] go up every year.” Another reason for the tuition increase is “step increases for faculty… so that means that every year, even if you have the exact same number of faculty, you have slight increase in everyone’s salary.” Another factor leading to the decision to increase tuition is the New York state-mandated minimum wage increase. Smith stated that the college does hire a lot of students as workers and their labor costs alone are a “non-trivial expense.”

A final, slightly less well known cost Houghton has invested in over the last several years is putting more money from the operations into “improving the physical plant,” Mullen said. “We have beautiful buildings, but many of them are older. And it’s only fairly recently that we’ve tried to have an institutional facilities renewal policy.” Referred to in higher education as deferred maintenance, Mullen gave the example of Gillette Hall, which had a water main break earlier this semester, as being an example of a concern. Deferred maintenance is “not something that any individual student is going to see a drastic change in. But it’s the kind of thing we have to do,” Mullen said. Smith also described deferred maintenance as “something we’re really having to focus on.”

The alternative to tuition increases is cutting costs, which Houghton has experienced quite a bit of over the past few years. Smith stated that the two largest costs on Houghton’s budget are the college’s commitment to four-year financial aid for students, followed by the salaries of faculty. Mullen stated that the challenge to cutting costs as a strategy for lowering costs is that “every cost we cut hurts students in some way… I would say we’re still going to be trying to look at that, because that’s the other way”. Mullen also offered the suggestion that it might be “interesting to have students weigh in on that at some point… our dominant perspective on any of our conversations is not to hurt student experience; but when you have administrators thinking this way, it may not be the same as what students would say”.

At a time when our enrollment is a concern to all on campus—faculty, students, and staff alike—will the tuition increase have an effect on incoming students? Houghton’s recent joining of the Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP) will probably keep that from happening. Smith described the LRAP as a kind of insurance program, featuring a sliding scale of reimbursement from the foundation to future Houghton graduates who are working in the United States, ranging from full reimbursement of loans for those making less than $20,000, and decreasing gradually until the cut-off point at $38,000. Smith described it as a “safety net to help you have the debt not be a burden on you.”

Throughout the interview, Mullen emphasized that “I wish we didn’t have to raise the tuition every year because I know that it falls most heavily on returning students… we’re not casual about this.” Smith similarly emphasized that all of the business decisions at the college are made with the good of students as the first and primary concern.

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Two Views: Would Widespread Economic and Political Freedom Create Global Peace?

Among a certain subset of people in the world, there is a strong belief that the primary requirement for “world peace”—that nebulous phrase used by politicians, college freshmen, and contestants on the Miss America pageant alike—is freedom. Primarily what they are talking about in these instances is political and economic freedom guaranteed by individual countries. I am not one of those people, and this is why.

2view-sarahsIt is important to note that a given group of people with political freedom depends largely on the values that they hold. For example, in 2005 Hezbollah was elected to power in southern Lebanon. Considered a terrorist organization by the United States government, this is hardly the type of political party to promote peace in the Middle East. The political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, the so-called “Freedom and Justice Party”, was also elected by a large majority to power in 2012. (Subsequently, President Morsi was, along with other members of the Muslim Brotherhood, removed from power and charged with murder). While both of these parties were elected through fair elections within the last ten years, neither of them hold values which would increase global peace.

The other freedom suggested as a requirement for world peace is economic freedom. This is more promising. Probably the best example of an international free trade arrangement is the EU (European Union). No country in the EU has gone to war with another EU member country—this is quite impressive, especially considering the previous history of the continent. This phenomenon extends beyond the European Union to democratic countries in general. Researchers theorize that the reason for this is that in a country with an open economic market, it becomes unnecessary and unprofitable for countries to go to war as resources are easily distributed between countries. War is no longer a necessity to re-distribute scarce resources but a distraction from more profitable methods of production.

On the other hand, it is possible that the more or less widespread global peace we in the democratic nations of the world have been experiencing is a fluke in the annals of history. (More or less, because a majority of countries in the world are currently or have recently been involved in some type of armed conflict). The reasons that global peace might not be sustainable even with widespread global economic and political freedom come down to the age-old reasons for conflict which currently democratic and economically free governments have at the moment been able to avoid—land and the resources associated with land.

Although the world as a whole is potentially able to support a significantly larger population than it currently is doing, the essential problem is that the largest percentage of increase in population will occur in regions that are less able to support a large population, while a decline is projected to occur in regions more able to support a larger population. For example, the latest UN projections predict the population of Africa will double, while that of Europe will decline by 14%.

Historically, a frequent source of conflict is a large population of young people with less access to resources. The inequality of consumption globally is well established—statistics such as, the 12% of the world’s population which lives in the United States and Europe accounts for 60% of global private consumption, while the third of global population which lives in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for only 3.2%.

Not only is inequality widespread and the global population rapidly increasing, there is evidence that water will in the quite near future become a resource lacking in many areas of world. Less than one percent of the water on the planet is usable for humans and animals. According to the UN, by 2030 nearly half of the world will be living under areas of high water stress.

My purpose in stating all these statistics is not to scare anyone or to present an overly pessimistic view of the world. And I do believe that economic and political freedoms are beneficial and even necessary for a country to live happily and well. But they are not enough. Freedom is what you make of it, and conflict is not something that can always be prevented.