I was watching a video the other day that mentioned the cassava plant, and how it’s a staple food in many parts of the world. I may have had it once or twice, but for some people it’s something they eat every day. This got me thinking - how many things do I assume that everyone else in the world must come in contact with and take for granted, because they’re so ubiquitous in my life? It’s very easy to take a self-centred view, and particularly when you assume that we live in a totally globalised world. But the experience of life for someone elsewhere may be completely different.
One silly example, in the UK nearly every house would have an electric kettle for brewing hot drinks. But a lot of countries don’t.
What items, food, clothing, buildings do you have that other people may never come across in their lives?
Pretty much everything. The world wide median per-capita household income is less than 3k USD per year. It is easy to forget how insanely wealthy we are in western Europe.
Cost of living varies too though, in many countries that amount would let you live well.
I recently read that rather than “global south” and “global north,” some people opt for “global majority” and “global minority.” I like that, it reflects how I’ve always tried to think of it.