poverty
Most of the world’s inhabitants and peoples live in poverty. Why is this? Is it enough to blame it on those who are poor, saying that they’re irresponsible, lazy, and make poor decisions? Are the governments of their countries responsible for the situation? These and other things are undoubtedly real reasons for poverty. Yet deeper and more universal causes of poverty and inequality are less often discussed reasons.
Essays
poverty and freedom
What does freedom have to do with money? What does it do to a person to exchange freedom for money?
I have the feeling humans are given more to crave what they don’t have, than to be content and appreciative
of what they do have. Freedom and money – or more generally possessions – are not necessarily in conflict, but there’s a pitfall, in that everyone may consider these things (or poverty and repression) differently. But in general it holds true that neither poverty nor wealth is the equivalent or the guarantee of freedom.
Do you have understanding for those in a poor country, for whom money is more important than freedom? Which is more important, freedom or a decent standard of living? How do you explain your opinion to the poor?
None of us chose the country, religion or cultural context into which we were born. It may indeed be more important in some places to survive from day to day than to get interested in civil freedom or the impact of human activity on the environment.
1/2010
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