Times have changed. From the day you are born you are a global citizen, whether you like it or not. If you are living the good life in a rich country you are a global citizen. If you are living in a shack, slaving away every day for the good of the western countries, and life constantly knocks you down, you are a global citizen. You may try, but you cannot ignore this fact. We do not realise how lucky we are in the western world. As you read this, there is a small boy in China, slaving away for hours on end to produce clothes just so that his family can afford food. These clothes will be bought by a rich western boy, who thinks his life is unfair because his parents won’t buy him a $350 iPhone to replace his $250 Samsung. He is ignorant, just like the rest of the western world, to the hardship people go through to produce the things we take for granted. As fellow global citizens we need to appreciate the sacrifice that is made to produce the goods we aspire to own. People should be more aware of what they are buying and where it comes from. Schemes like fair-trade are all
well and good but they should be universal - on all the clothes we buy as well as our food and electronic gadgets to help make the developing world a better place. And readers, instead of saying “Yeah, this guy makes sense”, then going out to buy your son a £90 tracksuit, donate to charity, buy ethically produced good and, most importantly, appreciate what you have.