Poverty as an obstacle to the development of countries
Introduction
Poverty is known for being one of the main problems that affects the world. However, discussing whether poverty is really a problem or cannot be complicated. This difficulty is due to the fact that the definition of the poverty concept is relative, that is, it depends on the way in which each person understands it. However, in this essay the concept of poverty will be defined as the state prior to the generation of wealth;having as characteristic, main, the shortage of basic resources, such as food, clothing and housing. The purpose of this essay is to talk about poverty is the starting point for countries. This issue is relevant because for many years it has been considered that poverty is the main problem that stops countries in their development;However, this essay will demonstrate how poverty has not been an obstacle for countries to develop effectively and generate wealth.
Developing
First, poverty is the starting point for countries because this phenomenon has not been an obstacle to wealth generation. If we analyze the case of Singapore, considered one of the richest countries in the world, it can be determined that poverty, in short, is not an obstacle to wealth generation. Singapore approximately 50 years ago was considered a poor and not promising island;However, in recent years it has been consolidated as the fourth richest nation in the world according to BBC (BBC News World 2018). The success of Singapore is due to the measures implemented by the leader Lee Kuan Yew who executed reforms to industrialize and take advantage of the geographical location of the country, in order to leave the state of misery in which they were. Among the measures read Kuan Yew implemented, the improvement in manufacturing production can be mentioned in order to raise exports to developed markets and investment in health, education and housing systems (BBC News World 2019). In short, the case of Singapore success is a clear example of how poverty is not an impediment for poverty generation, since it clearly shows as a country considered poor managed to overcome through effective measures to become a world power.
Second, it can be considered that poverty is the starting point for countries, since all countries were poor in their initial indices. Jim Yong Kim, president of the World Bank Group explains how all countries before the nineteenth century were poor because their economy was based on land and agriculture. However, with the arrival of the Industrial Revolution the economy rose exponentially, because new methodologies to trade (Kim 2018) emerged. This reasoning, raised by Jim Yong Kim, is a sample of how countries were actually born poor, but as they found measures that will boost their development poverty disappeared, becoming the initial point. To complete this idea we can support ourselves from Steven Pinker’s idea in his book, Enlightnement Now. Pinker said that "poverty has no causes (…) wealth has causes" (Pinker 2018). From this idea we can infer and conclude that poverty is the cause of wealth, since when the correct measures are found to boost development, poverty can be considered as the starting point for countries.
In short, other people could consider that poverty is not the starting point of a country, since it is limited to the way a country generates wealth. Many might consider that being a poor country, that is, that it does not have necessary resources, the progress and development to become a rich country can be a difficulty and therefore poverty would not be a starting point but an obstacle to development. However, in the case of Singapore it was observed how a country that was considered poor could be developed to become a power. We can also raise the case of Norway, who for 2018 occupied the 8st of the richest countries in the world (BBC News Mundo 2018). Norway, like Singapore, was considered a poor country according to the economist "Norway was a poorer country than Chile, Spain or Ireland". However, the government of this country knew how to take advantage of the oil resources that allowed it to establish itself as a world power, in addition, to be an economic model to follow. Therefore, there is enough evidence that demonstrates that poverty is the starting point for countries, since countries that were once considered "poor" today are recognized as a power for the world economy.
conclusion
In conclusion, poverty is the starting point for countries, because poverty has never been nor is it an obstacle to wealth generation and because all countries were poor in their initial indices. Indeed, with the examples of Singapore and Norway that began as poor countries and are now considered powers we can exemplify and demonstrate this statement in a clear way. In addition, poverty even though some people can consider it as a serious problem should not be eradicated directly, but to look for root problems. Finally, throughout this essay it has been shown how to find the measures to go in search of wealth can be the way to eliminate poverty in a country, thus this concept being the starting point.
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