Are Poor the Inevitable Feature of Any Society?

The word ‘poverty' is usually associated with the country Africa and with the extensive media coverage on the poverty problems in African countries. People are becoming less aware of the such problems occuring in their home country. However, it is a fact that every society has its own poverty problems regardless of how industrialized or rich it is. There are various causes of poverty, with inadequate education and unemployment being the major contributors.

Firstly, monetary aids given to poor countries and poor citizen by the government or generous fellow citizens are mean to remove them from poverty. However, they are actually worsening the problem. It is our human nature to be lazy, and to avoid work when the opportunity arises. When one is poor and the government gives out cash to support them. We tend to rely on the cash support even if we are capable of supporting ourselves financially. Thus giving direct monetary support to poor people does not solve the root cause of poverty.

However, some of these monetary aids come in the form of micro loans and expenditure on lessons to teach the poor how to do business. Take for example this non-profit organization called ‘Kiva', the donor's money are lent to borrowers in poverty stricken countries such as Bangladesh to set up businesses. They are taught how to do business and are encouraged to return the loans. Not only are the borrowers able to provide for their families and themselves, they are able to escape from the vicious poverty cycle as they are financially independent.

Nevertheless, this method of giving aid is only able to reach a limited number of poor people in developing countries and it is not suitable for developed countries, where large multi-national companies dominate the economy and it is difficult for small businesses to flourish.

Secondly, in countries where corruption is rampant, widespread poverty occurs among the citizen. Take for example Myanmar, one of the most corrupted country