Month: October 2017

Redefining my perception of poverty

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After I watched Jeffery Sachs’s lecture on what defines poverty, it’s become clear to me that the definition of poverty : “the state of being extremely poor” is an understatement as there are various other factors that create our contemporary definition of Poverty.

What Sachs defined as poverty is inadequate access to potable water, food, shelter which all falls under the title of basic needs which aligns with my prior definition of poverty. However, Sachs goes on to mention the lack of access to electricity and education which do not fall under basic needs as it isn’t required for survival. The two are still considered due to the importance we placed in society which implies our definitions change with the time and current paradigms.

Another point that changed my perception of poverty is the fact that many countries with respectable GDP still have some incidence of extreme poverty like Sachs example of Rio. Showing that you cannot confine poverty to one area only and rather need to see poverty as a whole not from international borders but rather as existing on earth.

What makes a good society?

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As I previously lived in Malaysia, I will be using Malaysia as a comparison with Sach’s good society.
Personally, I think Malaysia is not a good society based on what Sach’s identified.
As I’ve seen, there is a income gap in Malaysia which is not big enough to be compared to other countries but big enough to see a noticeable change. Where I lived, I could see a less economically developed neighbourhood with houses clumped together and sprawling wide.
In addition, Malaysia’s concern for the environment is noticeable as immediately upon entering the country it is clear that most of the forests have been cleared for industry like palm oil. It’s size also contributes to this as a country like Singapore which is much smaller, making most buildings expand vertically instead of horizontally. Malaysia’s large size results in a more horizontal expansion over vertical which also leads to environmental destruction.
While I haven’t seen it in person, there have been reports of discrimination against minorities and government inefficiency which also contributes to Sach’s good society.