World Politics News   Articles for World Politics Course

One of the fundamental assumptions of classical realist thought is that human beings are inherently aggressive.  A corollary of that proposition is that humans are selfish.  Modern research, however, is challenging that key assumption. Neuroscientists are uncovering evidence that humans might actually be wired to be charitable and that it is less demanding on the brain to behave altruistically.  More evidence is necessary, but it is a true step forward to be able to assess key assumptions that were heretofore untestable.

Foreign aid is hardly an act of altruism–states only help other states if the act furthers their national interests.  The US Congress is considering raising the amount of foreign assistance it provides to Israel.  The Congressional Research Service provides the following chart on how much aid the US has given Israel over the years.

Table B-1. Recent U.S. Bilateral Aid to Israel

(millions of dollars)

Year             Total       Military Grant    Economic Grant  Immig. Grant   ASHA    All other

1949-1996  68,030.9     29,014.9                23,122.4                     868.9                   121.4           14,903.3

1997              3,132.1          1,800.0                  1,200.0                       80.0                      2.1                   50.0

1998             3,080.0         1,800.0                  1,200.0                      80.0                        —                     —

1999             3,010.0          1,860.0                  1,080.0                      70.0                        —                      —

2000           4,131.85          3,120.0                     949.1                       60.0                     2.75                    —

2001            2,876.05         1,975.6                     838.2                       60.0                     2.25                    —

2002           2,850.65         2,040.0                    720.0                       60.0                     2.65                  28.0

2003           3,745.15          3,086.4                    596.1                        59.6                      3.05                    —

2004           2,687.25         2,147.3                     477.2                        49.7                      3.15                     9.9

2005           2,612.15          2,202.2                    357.0                        50.0                      2.95                      —

2006           2,534.5           2,257.0                     237.0                       40.0                        —                       0.5

2007           2,503.15         2,340.0                    120.0                        40.0                      2.95                    0.2

2008          2,423.9           2,380.0                            0                        40.0                      3.90                       0

2009           2,583.9          2,550.0                            0                         30.0                      3.90                       0

2010            2,803.8         2,775.0                             0                         25.0                      3.80                       0

2011            3,029.22        3,000.0                           0                          25.0                     4.225                     0

2012            3,098.0         3,075.0                            0                          20.0                     3.00                       0

2013            2,943.2          3,100.0                           0                           15.0                          —                        0

2014            3,115.0           3,100.0                            0                          15.0                          —                        0

FY2015       3,110.0           3,100.0                           0                           10.0                         —                        0

FY2016       3,110.0           3,100.0                           0                           10.0                         —                        0

Total       124,300.80   470,523.4           30,897.0               1,673.2               162.075            14,991.9

Israel has asked that its annual aid be increased this coming year from $3.1 billion to about $5 billion and many members of Congress support the increase.  According to the IMF, Israel had a GDP of $35,343 in 2015: ranking 23rd in a world of 185 nation-states.

The world is approaching a genuine transformation in the nature of work as it begins to develop robots with unbelievable capabilities.  The MIT Technology Review  has published an article on China’s commitment to replace humans with robots.  Many countries are also developing this tactic:

Automation appears to offer an enticing technological solution. China already imports a huge number of industrial robots, but the country lags far behind competitors in the ratio of robots to workers. In South Korea, for instance, there are 478 robots per 10,000 workers; in Japan the figure is 315; in Germany, 292; in the United States it is 164. In China that number is only 36.

Robots offer great promise in replacing humans in dangerous and boring jobs.  But what jobs will be created for the flesh-and-blood remains an open question.