Midterm Essay
Poverty
can be defined as human inability to meet their own basic needs due to the
economic circumstances that surround their lives. Being poor means being
malnourished, having no access to education, basic health care, and living in
inadequate, adverse conditions. Poverty consequently can be defined as human
condition which diminishes “human dignity and stuns human potential.”[1] This human condition is like a
plague in the global community, for “at least two out of every three people on
Earth live in poverty.”1
The
“antidote” to poverty is development, which promotes three core values that
include sustenance, self-esteem, and freedom.
According
to Catholic Social Teaching human life is sacred from the moment of conception
until natural death, the dignity of human life should be protected by human
rights, and a thriving community can be achieved only if corresponding
responsibilities are met. Out of these teachings emerges yet another teaching, which
calls for an option for the poor. Option for the poor and vulnerable invites the
catholic community to put the needs of underprivileged first and instructs that
the wellbeing of disadvantaged among our midst is “a basic moral test”[2] of
the society. Real life implementation of option for the poor and vulnerable
comes about through the acts of charity and notion of development. According to
the Roman Catholic Church, charity is oriented to provide an immediate relief
to the poor, while development is a critical step to put an end to the vicious
cycle of poverty.
The
concepts of development and charity emerge from the sources of Christian
Ethics. The idea of charity primarily emerges from the scriptures and is set
forth by the direct example of Jesus’ life, while the notion of development
originates from reason and experience. Saint Thomas Aquinas can particularly be
credited for the strong emphasis that the Roman Catholic Church places on
development.
St.
Thomas Aquinas coined the Natural Law, which explains that everything that
exists in nature was created with an intention and with a purpose. According to
the Natural Law any creature can achieve its fullest potential if given
adequate environment to do so. Consequently, human beings can thrive and
achieve the purpose intended for them by God, only if they are provided with
adequate conditions not only for the survival but most importantly for
“thrival.”
The ideals of thrival are directly related to
the development, which “requires economic growth and the reduction of
inequality”1
between the affluent and the poor. Although
current- global- economic system is oriented to narrow the gap between the rich
and the poor, the reality falls short from this ideal set forth by the concept
of Globalization. While outsourcing of “First World” economies to the
developing countries does bring capital, investment, and employment to the
poor, it also brings the perils of economic exploitation. Globalization
oftentimes limits choices of the poor and devalues local cultures promoting the
Americanized way of life. Globalization, in today’s context, “is focused on
profit and not on lifting up the poor.”1
Globalization widens the gap between the
rich and the poor, exploits underprivileged communities, and singlehandedly
takes advantage of the resources in the developing countries only to benefit
already thriving economies. In short, globalization lacks a human face.
The
Christian church’s more contemporary focus on sustainable development
essentially calls for globalization with a human face, which means “finding the
rules and institutions that can govern global markets [in a manner that] protects
workers, preserves community [and] conserves…resources.”1
Sustainable development, according to the Christian tradition, has an eye not
just on meeting the needs of now but meeting the needs of now without
sacrificing the needs of the future generations. Sustainable development is
consistent with theocentric view which appeals to Christian responsibility to
care for God’s creation.
Roman
Catholic Church maintains that excessive consumption by the wealthy is what
deprives developing countries of resources that otherwise could be used for
their own economic growth. Hence adhering to the principles of the sustainable
development would not only elevate ecology but would undoubtedly relieve
poverty.
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