Poverty as an Important Challenge - Essay Example

Poverty is one of the most important challenges in front of the government both in the advanced and poor economies alike. Poverty can be defined as the inability of an individual, group, or community to afford the necessities of life. While the definition of necessities is subjective, the most severe form of poverty is the inability to afford the fundamental necessities of life that include but are not limited to food, clean water, and accommodation. People of the same society are categorized into different socioeconomic classes depending upon the extent to which they are poor, with the elite possessing far in excess of what they require and the poor not being able to meet even the most basic needs. People are driven into poverty because of a range of micro-and macro-economic factors that primarily include lack of education, lack of skills and competencies, lack of awareness, and poor health and environment. Various external factors also contribute to the increase of poverty like the falling economy of a country and inflation.

People are not able to rise out of poverty because of their lack of ability to access the opportunities. In the present age, the world has truly become a global village with immense potential for social networking. The availability of the Internet has increased the number of opportunities for people beyond imagination. Still, some people are not able to improve their financial status primarily because of a lack of education and awareness. While there are plentiful opportunities, they can only be utilized if people have their awareness and are educated enough to utilize them. Many brick-and-mortar businesses have gone online, thus potentially increasing their access for everybody anywhere in the world. Still, people are not informed because they live in communities with outdated cultures and a lack of flair to utilize these opportunities. Besides, higher education has become extremely expensive. Expensive education has increased the economic divide between people. While the rich can afford to get higher education and avail themselves of a multitude of opportunities, the poor cannot afford it and hence remain unskilled and thus incompetent to survive in the highly competitive environment. The feudal system in which communities are governed and controlled by few groups or individuals belonging to the elite class is a major cause of sustenance of poverty. People in power control the resources and deter the subordinates’ access to them to maintain their status and power.

Out of all the systems, one system that can potentially lessen poverty, if not completely eradicate it, is capitalism. Capitalism is such an economic system wherein all means of production, trade, and industry are governed by private owners whose efforts are directed at making a profit. The major characteristics of capitalism are competitive markets, wage labor, and capital accumulation. Parties doing trade determine the prices of assets and commodities in a capitalist economy. Capitalism is a moral system in that it respects people’s dignity. Capitalism is the only system that provides people with incentive and motivation to work hard and try their best to proceed forward socially as well as economically. People create wealth because of the confidence that they can use it for their personal benefits. The benefits of capitalism extend beyond that individual to the entire society since the money earned is spent on accessories, commodities, and services being sold by others in the society. The need for charity in a free society adopting capitalism would only survive for a few years. In the long run, everybody would be financially stable enough to surpass that need.

If I were to solve the problem of poverty, I would bring capitalism into the systems of my country. While on one hand, I would provide people with industries and facilities for the growth of their private businesses of such a nature that provide social good (Yunus, 2009, p. 5); on the other hand, I would also establish a strong system of collection of tax. I would attribute a substantial portion of that tax to the welfare of the poor. My first and foremost goal would be to educate the poor so that they not only become informed of the opportunities but also become skilled and talented enough to utilize them. The poor are not necessarily untalented, but lack of education, awareness, and access to opportunities and resources are some of the major reasons why they are not able to rise out of poverty. I would eradicate the feudal system in the country by establishing clear and measurable limits till which one individual or group can lead the community, thus ensuring that everybody gets a chance to lead for some time and contributes to the growth of the economy.