Last time I introduced the topic of poverty, a topic that many people claim to know about and yet really do not understand fully. I am one of those people. As I dig deeper into what poverty is and how it can be solved, I really feel like I have a new appreciation for my life and want to do more for those who do not have as much. However, before solutions can be deliberated, the root causes must be examined and that is what I plan on discussing today. I would like to preface this by saying that there is no singular cause of poverty. It comes in many different forms, and is sometimes a mixture of many different problems, some that are intertwined deeply with the history of a country. This, as you can imagine, is one of the reasons why we are struggling to come up with an end-all be-all solution. Despite this, I am going to introduce you today to some of the most significant contributions to global poverty.
The first cause I would like to discuss is history. As I’m sure you know, the history of a country has a huge impact on what it looks like today. The United States, once 13 colonies under British rule, has now come to be the most prosperous country in the world, less than 3oo years later. However, many other countries are not so lucky. Years of colonization and extraction of resources have left some countries completely depleted. The effects of colonization are still being felt wide and far, limiting people’s access to things like land, education, and capital. Even the slave trade, something that seems so long ago, is still causing ripple effects with poverty in Africa.
The next major cause is political instability. A country without strong building blocks is barely a country at all. Safety, security, and strength are three of the biggest characteristic of a politically stable country; without them, a country will fall into shambles, and this is what can be seen in some of the countries experiencing extreme poverty. A weak political infrastructure prevents laws from being effectively put into place and prevents the citizens of a country from being able to work cohesively. It is in countries like these that political infighting begins, sometimes leading to full scale wars. As you can imagine, poverty often comes as a result of this when there is an unequal balance of power.
To put it simply poverty, is an issue of money, or a lack there of. Often this results from an issue facing many countries today: national debt. National debt in poorer countries stems from getting loans from other countries or owing money to international finance institutions. It is not a surprise, that this problem never seems to go away, especially for countries built without a solid economic and political structure. The International Monetary Fund has also forced many poorer countries to open themselves to outside investors, limiting the growth of local economies. Precious resources have to be given up in order to pay off the debt, forcing people into poorer living conditions.
Social inequality is one of the most unfortunate causes of poverty. People who are forced into a lower social class based on family history, religion, gender, or race face some of the worst treatment by others within their community. One of the first steps to getting rid of poverty is making sure everyone is on the same page. However, if countries can not combat their deeply engraved social constructs, they will have a hard time coming up with a solution that works for everyone. Social inequality forces certain groups to not have access to the same information, resources, and education that others have, creating a huge gap in wealth distribution.
The final cause of poverty I would like to discuss is equally awful because it is uncontrollable and unexpected: natural disasters. Facing a natural disaster as a country that is not wealthy to begin with can be completely devastating. It forces people to go from having very little, to literally having to scrap for means to survive; something that is unimaginable for people like you and I. People are no longer residents within their communities, but refugees, looking to a government to help that has no help to offer. Without foreign aid, countries such as Haiti after the 2005 earthquake, would be in complete shambles. However, as much as we can do to contribute to the recovery of countries such as these, there is no telling when and where another natural disaster will hit which is why it is imperative that we find solutions to global poverty as soon as possible.
As you can see, the causes of poverty are messy and complicated. Each cause tends to go hand in hand with another, causing a chain reaction of issues for a struggling country. What is scarier is that I haven’t even come close to listing all of the underlying causes of poverty. There are so many more, and each country is unique in its route of poverty. However, my goal with this post is to help you become more familiar with how countries come to be poverty stricken in the first place because they all certainly did not start out that way. With this basic understanding, we can begin to see what needs to be done.
http://borgenproject.org/what-causes-global-poverty/
http://www.globalissues.org/issue/28/third-world-debt-undermines-development
Shannon M Mcculloch says
All of the things you mentioned are so very very true. In my Political Science classes, we talk about poverty and its range of causes and it is actually such a sad topic. It is just something that makes me feel so privileged in such a seemingly well off place that we live in. Have you ever seen the movie with Will Smith.. The Pursuit of Happyness? well that movie hits me right in the feels every time and all I can do after I watch it is hug my parents and tell them how much I love them and how grateful I am to have them in my life and to be so privileged. You just never know when something like a natural disaster could happen to you so it is important to give back and show support and love to those of us who are not as well off as others.
jjh5589 says
Em I think I’ve told you this before but I absolutely love the way you write! It flows so easily and your style is so laid back but informational! But in all seriousness, I had no idea there were so many ways a nation could go into poverty.
Maybe I did know because all of your reasons make sense, but kids our age never take the time out of our day to really think about these things. We take so much for granted. Like the fact that we have a government who (even though many wouldn’t agree) actually supports us and enough resources to keep most people on their feet. In America, we rarely have to worry about natural disasters which was one of the reasons that shocked me because its so overlooked.
Thank you again so much for doing this blog!! 🙂
Diana Mary Alnemri says
This is a really well written post! I learned a lot about the various causes of poverty. It’s so sad that many causes are so hard to control, such as the natural disasters. I remember always collecting money and food in elementary school for the people effected the earthquake in Haiti. Sometimes it’s so hard to imagine what people are going through since we live in such great areas. We have parents who’s money seems to just float in, grocery stores where we can get any food any time we want, and comfortable dorms/ homes where we can escape the bad weather. Many people in poverty cannot imagine these luxuries and that’s what makes this such a heartbreaking topic. Thanks for the post! It really got me thinking!