Social Insecurity

Sources of Social Insecurity

The United Nations Development Program has identified seven dimensions of human security: economic, food, health, environmental, personal, community, and political. These dimensions are interrelated in that the lack of one can precipitate the lack or diminution of others, thereby resulting in social insecurity. The lack of economic security, for example, generally results in food insecurity and poor health.

Globalization is an important factor that contributes to social insecurity through the movement of people between and within countries for economic reasons. As these population shifts impact traditional communities and family structures based on kinship, ethnicity, and religion, the concomitant shift of social connections increases social insecurity. The loss of traditional support systems and the resulting increase in social insecurity aggravate the conditions of poverty.

The unequal distribution of economic and political power is another key factor contributing to social insecurity. Limited government investment in the health, education, and political rights of populations reduces broad-based economic growth because economies require sufficient numbers of secure, healthy, skilled workers to thrive. Many nations fail to make economic and social interventions to reduce social insecurity because of political and economic corruption. Often the [Page 989]failure to act is based on the contention that human needs will be met through engagement in a world economy and market forces alone. The poor also typically receive inadequate protection from the judicial system, limiting their access to protection from crime and manipulation by stronger groups and forces.

Social insecurity often stems from a lack of access to resources and opportunities, not necessarily their absence. J. Dreze and A. Sen note, for example, that homelessness results from lack of access to housing or land, not necessarily from an absence of available housing or the opportunities to establish housing. Similarly, famines result not from lack of food, but from people's inability to buy or access existing food sources. The issue of access is closely tied to the distribution of power and political choices.

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