Why Poor Countries Are Poor
From India Uncut comes a link to a solid article on Why Poor Countries Are Poor. We all know that corrupt and inefficient governments breed poverty. However, it is also worth considering the way that a lack of social trust, or a failed social contract also aggravates the problem. As in the example from Cameroon, […]
From India Uncut comes a link to a solid article on Why Poor Countries Are Poor.
We all know that corrupt and inefficient governments breed poverty. However, it is also worth considering the way that a lack of social trust, or a failed social contract also aggravates the problem. As in the example from Cameroon, here in India it is often the case that pubic and day-to-day situations end up as win-lose scenarios. The wealth of the few is dependent on the poverty of the many. Waste is extraordinary and political gain (and the gains of politics) outstrip social goods. People still act like what they have today could be gone tommorrow, like any security is fleeting, like any gain will naturally come at the expense of someone else. This fragments and atomises the social structure, it breeds selfishness and consumerism and in the end undermines that which is good in Indian culture.
But this need not be the case. In fact it is my growing belief, after three years here that India already has the wealth it needs to address its own poverty.
Put simply, India does not really need charity, aid or help to alleviate its poor. That it still relies on these things is testament to the failure of its ruling class, to the lack of social contract and to the paucity of trust that exists within the country. Change these things, and there will be a dramatic turnaround in the plight of the poorest of the poor.
[tags] Poverty, Cameroon, India [/tags]
