Poverty: Self-Inflicted?
Granted there are exceptions, but I personally believe poverty stricken countries do it to themselves, as do individuals that live in economically free societies.
Question: Do you think poverty is self-inflicted?
Question: Do you think poverty is self-inflicted?
Razmus,
Enjoyed seeing your kind of response in this forum.
Enjoyed seeing your kind of response in this forum.
SOLUTION
membership
This solution is only available to members.
To access this solution, you must be a member of Experts Exchange.
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
membership
This solution is only available to members.
To access this solution, you must be a member of Experts Exchange.
SOLUTION
membership
This solution is only available to members.
To access this solution, you must be a member of Experts Exchange.
SOLUTION
membership
This solution is only available to members.
To access this solution, you must be a member of Experts Exchange.
On the macro level:
And perhaps it's the influence of liberal educators, but when I was in school there were lists of reasons given for the plight of the third world nations -- some of which were outside influences which attempted to mold those countries using policies and building infrastructure that didn't make sense in those regions of the world. Other causes were greed and corruption of some of the people inside the country... so on the macro level, that certainly is self-inflicted.
On the level of the individual:
I usually attribute the majority of poverty with which I come in contact as self-inflicted. People who make poor life choices early in life, or engage in self destructive behaviour have a greater tendency to end up living in poverty. However: mental illness, poor parenting, destructive environments, and bad economic situations are not what I consider self-inflicted poverty for the individual.
As example - If auto-makers produce vehicles that are not what the consumer wants to purchase, and facilities end up failing because of it... it's self-inflicted on the macro scale, but not for the guy who once made a decent living on the line.
Worse: during economically bad times, some individuals may resort to illegal/unethical activities to improve their situation -- witness bootleggers during the era of US Prohibition/Depression, drug trafficking in US inner-cities, and Somolian Pirates. These activities actually stimulate certain segments of the economy and could have the effect of pulling SOME individuals out of poverty. Elimination of those activities could actually cause some poverty.