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Why Do People Stay Poor? [pdf]

sticerd.lse.ac.uk

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Re: Why Do People Stay Poor? [pdf]

#11

Post by oblio »

I'll probably read the whole thing at some point, but I'd say that it's due to the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediocrity_principle, basically "don't assume you're special". Or "don't assume any one sample of a thing is special", from the start.

And since the natural state of humanity is poverty (after all we all started as hunter-gatherers), breaking out of it on your own is extraordinary. I wouldn't be surprised that the first communities to break out of poverty had 1 extraordinary individual that lifted their entire family/clan/tribe. Then through social osmosis more people in their vicinity were lifted, provided they cooperated/were open enough to the new thing that made their neighbors rich/were not discriminated for a million reasons/...).

Look at the Industrial Revolution. It basically spread geographically from the UK and is also spread socially to UK off-shoots, first.

Re: Why Do People Stay Poor? [pdf]

#12

Post by carlob »

emsign wrote: post #5

[flagged]

I don't want to defend capitalism, but I'd say that capitalism needing the exploitation of the weak is not even entirely true.

There is strong evidence that overall economic growth peaked at times (or places) where income taxes were higher and the distribution of wealth and income was more equitable. Of course there is the whole matter of causation/correlation, but this at least shows that a capitalist society can and does prosper when the highest tax bracket is over 80%, while trickle-down economics mostly failed to induce general growth.

Re: Why Do People Stay Poor? [pdf]

#13

Post by truckerbill »

oblio wrote: post #11

I'll probably read the whole thing at some point, but I'd say that it's due to the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediocrity_principle , basically "don't assume you're special". Or "don't assume any one sample of a thing is special", from the start. And since the natural state of humanity is poverty (after all we all started as hunter-gatherers), breaking out of it on your own is extraordinary. I wouldn't be surprised…

That specific principle you linked to seems to be saying something different to your hypothesis - it’s arguing the idea that a sample of one doesn’t let you assume something is unique.

Re: Why Do People Stay Poor? [pdf]

#15

Post by oblio »

truckerbill wrote: post #13
oblio wrote: post #11

I'll probably read the whole thing at some point, but I'd say that it's due to the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediocrity_principle , basically "don't assume you're special". Or "don't assume any one sample of a thing is special", from the start. And since the natural state of humanity is poverty (after all we all started as hunter-gatherers), breaking out of it on your own is extraordinary. I wouldn't be surprised…

That specific principle you linked to seems to be saying something different to your hypothesis - it’s arguing the idea that a sample of one doesn’t let you assume something is unique.

If you extrapolate it a bit, it does say what I'm saying. I am a sample of one, too. You too, are a sample of one :-)

Why would I be special? Why would you be special? We all tend to think we're amazing (and our families/clans/tribes/cities/countries), in many cases with very flimsy reasoning.

I'll rephrase my comment.

Re: Why Do People Stay Poor? [pdf]

#17

Post by La1n »

Findeton wrote: post #14
emsign wrote: post #5

[flagged]

In the times of cavemen everyone was poor, was capitalism the root cause?

Well in the times of cavemen we also didn't have 26 people owning as much as the poorest half of the world. So while it might not have been the issue then, that doesn't mean it can't be now. Things can have multiple causes, and causes can change over time.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/jan/21/world-26-ri...

Re: Why Do People Stay Poor? [pdf]

#18

Post by oblio »

emsign wrote: post #5

[flagged]

Well, when you make a controversial statement, you need to back it up. What's your solution? What can you point to that worked better?

I would say that on the spectrum of pure capitalism - mixed economies - complete socialism, mixed economies work best, as proven by real life.

Re: Why Do People Stay Poor? [pdf]

#19

Post by La1n »

oblio wrote: post #11

I'll probably read the whole thing at some point, but I'd say that it's due to the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediocrity_principle , basically "don't assume you're special". Or "don't assume any one sample of a thing is special", from the start. And since the natural state of humanity is poverty (after all we all started as hunter-gatherers), breaking out of it on your own is extraordinary. I wouldn't be surprised…

>And since the natural state of humanity is poverty (after all we all started as hunter-gatherers), breaking out of it on your own is extraordinary.

The natural state was sharing resources and taking care of a small group of people. Not working for a boss.

Re: Why Do People Stay Poor? [pdf]

#20

Post by mNovak »

>> The threshold above which people no longer regress into poverty is 9,309 BDT (504 USD PPP)

Am I understanding PPP correctly--this is a value equivalent to what $500 buys in the US?

That's surprising because the paper states this is above the amount available for conventional microfinance; I didn't realize it was indeed that "micro".

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