Civil Rights, The Malthusian Economics of Demographics (Essay Sample)

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Issues in Bioterrorism: Assignment 3
Question one
Civil rights are mandatory and should be granted to any legal citizen in a sovereign state. Political rights are dependent on the domicile of an individual and are granted upon qualification. On the other hand, socio-economic rights are dependent on the individual’s industrial ability and, therefore, are pegged on civil and political rights (Carmona 115). It, therefore, follows that as much as the three sets of rights are fundamental to the well-being of an individual, they certainly have limitations that must be adhered to. For instance, a refugee will not enjoy the freedom of expression and association as much as a registered citizen (Carmona 116).
Of all the rights, civil rights form the bulk of the freedoms that each rightful citizen of a state must be granted. Even, aliens have a form of civil rights that they must enjoy in their daily life. However, political rights are only available to registered citizens who have express authority to vote. An example is that of a civilian who has not attained the age of majority, as such, the individual is limited to enjoy civil and socio-economic rights and not political rights (Carmona 124).
Question two
The concept of sustainability dates back to the days of the Malthusian economics of demographics. Malthus like many other economists was concerned about how much population could be sustained by the resources provided by Mother Nature. He predicted doomsday by looking at the rate at which population was growing. In simple terms, the word sustainable is used to link development and the environment (Rogers, Jalal, & Lloyd 22). It is common practice for producers to leave the environment in which they operate in a wasted/ degraded state. If production continues to take place with no regard to the environment, then future production may not be possible.
It is difficult to define sustainable development conclusively. Not even economics scholars agree on any particular definition. However, the Brundtland commission of 1987 defined sustainable development as the type of development that serves the needs of the current generation sufficiently without compromising the needs of the future generations (Rogers, Jalal, & Lloyd 22). Under sustainable development, resources are used sparingly.
Sustainable development encompasses three fundamental concepts. There is the economic, the environmental and the social aspect (42). Moreover, there are several parameters upon which sustainable development can be measured. They include population, pollution, and poverty among others (47).
One of the threats to sustainable development is population growth. Between 1820 and 1920, the world population doubled from 1 billion to 2 billion. In the same time frame of 1920 to 2020, it is expected that the world population will have increased four times to over 8 billion with India becoming the most populous nation (53). A high population has the effect of causing environmental degradation. However, the effects caused by population growth are not as ominous as those caused by other agents such as pollution. A good example is that of India where the rapid population growth that is accompanied by unprecedented industrial growth has had a profound influence on environmental health (53).
Question Three
A treaty is a convention between two or more countries established under the provisions of international law. During the signing of treaties, countries agree to certain provisions that are aimed at benefiting both parties. However, some of the treaties are not balanced and may end up hurting some of the countries party to such treaties. Some treaties are regional while others are global. Multilateral treaties are those between more than two countries whereas bilateral treaties are strictly between two countries.
From the economics point of view, investment treaties are meant to benefit both the participating countries. However, weaker nations are usually short changed during the signing of the treaties. There is no law under international law that expressly requires parties to a bilateral agreement to disclose the provisions of their agreements (Aust 279). In particular, bilateral investment treaties can be looked at as a form of a regional partnership although the countries involved could be separated by a wide geographical gap. The history of treaties reveals that developed countries have in the past shown unending desire to partner with the poor countries of Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. The reason for doing so is the vested interest of the developed countries to benefit unfairly from the developing and weak nations. An examp...