POVERTY IS A CRIME

Poverty is a crime in the world of today. It is such a crime that is being committed by the world nations in general and the poor states in particular. And the worst beg in the streets and even to steal bread. They are being frustrated in as many ways as country to be poor is Pakistan. A large number of people have to sleep under bridges, to possible due to the very attack of the virus of poverty. George Bernard Shaw had opined: “very few people can afford to be poor”, he was quite right in saying so. Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s words are; “War on nations change maps. War on poverty maps change.” Fisher Ames (1758–1808) had remarked, “The leaders of the French Revolution excited the poor against the rich; this made the rich poor, but it never made the poor rich.” This can also be applied to the former Soviet Union, Where similar scenario could be seen. Both capitalism and socialism, have not succeeded to eradicate poverty from the world. He slogans of democracy and that of food, clothing and shelter were raised from various parts of the globe but they proved merely as empty words. Jesus Christ had rightly said, “The poor you always have with you,” and Pakistan has too. Poverty is a complicated and multidimensional phenomenon reflecting itself in every walk of our life. It has come to permanently stay in the country and is visible in almost all facet of our urban as well as rural environments such as social transactions, economic relations, political patterns, and so on. The less developed countries are trapped in their own poverty and Pakistan is no exception to it. Our country, like other developing countries is caught in the vicious circle of poverty, which tends to repeat and aggravate unless some vigorous efforts are made to break out of this vicious circle. Ragnar Naraske describes ‘vicious cirle of poverty’ as “the basic cause of under-development of poor countries”. According to Narske, “the less developed countries remain poor due to domestic obstacles. These countries remain poor due to domestic obstacles. These obstacles act and react upon one another in such a way that they form a vicious circle. They keep the country in a perpetual low level of development.” In Pakistan, for example, the people have low per capita income. Having low income, they have little ability or incentive to save. When flow of saving is small in it, investment is bound to be low. Low investment leads to low productivity. With low productivity level, the income is bound to be low. People as such remain poor. The vicious circle is completed. Longfellow has quite rightly said. “Not enjoyment and not sorrow. Is our destined end or way, But to act, that each tomorrow, Brings us farther than today.” Although the overall success in the task of ending poverty has been quite limited efforts have been made to change the economic conditions for the better. These South in South Asian countries such as Pakistan and India since Independence, yet several I have left South Asia behind. have pursued diverse economic policies such as South outclassed by many other developing countries. The more successful countries, which Asian countries progress over the years has been substantially and systematically Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, China and Malaysia.