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Inequality is a major component of why the third world isn't producing wealth the way it could. Every person who is born into extreme poverty looses the opport
by sdurkin 19y ago
Inequality is a major component of why the third world isn't producing wealth the way it could.
Every person who is born into extreme poverty looses the opportunity for health, stability, and education that is necessary to build his or her abilities to the point where he or she can contribute to building wealth.
Think of it as analogous to human resources in a private company. It would be incredibly foolish to exclude a large part of your potential hiring pool.
What if the next Bill Gates is born in Nigeria? The potential production that the world would loose is staggering.
- astine 19y agoWhat you are describing is poverty begetting poverty, not inequality begetting poverty. If everyone in the world had the same income as the average Nigerian, the world would be perfectly equal, but the Nigerians wouldn't be any better off. The problem isn't that the third world doesn't have as much as the first world, but that they simply don't have enough. You're absolutely correct, we need to help people who are less fortunate than ourselves, but inequality isn't the source of the problem. Our being rich, doesn't make them poor (usually.)
- sdurkin 19y agoAh, yes, this is true. I was using inequality as synonymous with poverty, while there is an important distinction. However, in a lot of cases, especially in the third world, abuse of labor and government allows a select few to build and maintain wealth. In those cases, the rich are only rich at the expense of the poor.