Poverty: Origins, Causes & Avoidance

Thread starter Avichal
Start date Apr 8, 2013

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Poverty has roots in the division of labor that began with settled human societies, leading to economic disparities as some individuals became better off than others. The emergence of class systems and monetary systems, as discussed by David Graeber, indicates that poverty has always been intertwined with societal structures. Historical evidence shows that even in early civilizations, such as those in Mesopotamia and Egypt, poverty existed alongside social hierarchies. Factors like natural disasters, warfare, and slavery have perpetuated poverty throughout history, suggesting it is not an inevitable condition but rather a result of various societal dynamics. The conversation highlights the complexity of poverty's origins and the need for nuanced discussions around absolute and relative poverty.

Apr 9, 2013

ImaLooser

russ_watters said:

The zero point from which development is measured. All animals are poor and all humans were poor prior to the development of civilization.

There were huge herds of animals and flocks of birds, so I think that animals were much wealthier than they are now. I'd say extinction of a species is the ultimate in poverty.

As to human beings, consider the Hopi tribe. They seem to have been the first tribe in North America, so in effect they owned the entire continent. They left mounds behind, like the Ohio serpent mound, so there is evidence that they traveled over the entire continent. There was such a wealth of animal life that hunting was easy. One might consider them fabulously wealthy.

BUT the original poster has clarified that the issue under discussion is economic disparity, so all this is irrelevant. He seems to be interested in civilizations.

Originally all wealth came from the land. Some lands produced more human-usable wealth than others, so there was a natural disparity. This remains.

I would guess that the ancient practice of slavery introduced artificial economic disparity. It was certainly one of the earliest forms.