How To Eradicate Poverty (Without Doing Charity)

1. The Indian Experiment to Eradicate Poverty

“Everything that is rewarded grows.”

India had been strafed and divided with the caste system since centuries. The society is divided into 4 sections.

• Brahmins are the teachers and the priests.
• Kshatriyas are the warriors.
• Vaishyas are the merchants.
• And Shudras are the agriculturists and service providers.

The caste system is hereditary. So who you are depends on who your father is. If you are born in a Shudra family, you couldn’t join the army.

Dalits are a sub-part of Shudras. They are the folks who do all the unwanted jobs like cleaning the streets. They are the people who become the “untouchables.” If someone touches a Dalit, he is expected to go and have a bath immediately. (This may have started out as a means to prevent diseases from spreading and becoming epidemic as Dalits had the worst jobs. But the act of not touching sank its roots deeper until the Indian society broke down.)

Soon, Dalits are banned from being educated or entering places of worship! Thousands of Dalits suffer from centuries of poor treatment. This mistreatment persists even after the caste system is abolished in India.

Indian Constitution Seeks to Change Things

And so, when India gains its independence in 1947, the leaders decide to make things right.

The folks who frame the Indian constitution believe that Dalits are historically oppressed and denied respect and equal opportunity in the society. The quickest way to help them achieve equal status in the society is by educating them.

But many of these Dalits can’t even afford education. So the Indian Government decides to create a schedule caste and schedule tribe quota. 22.5% of all the seats in Government schools and colleges should be reserved for these Dalits. They are to be educated for free!

Situation After 61 Years

After 61 years of independence and quota education system, you would think that there wouldn’t be any person claiming himself to be a Dalit left in India today – right?

But things haven’t worked out that way.

Instead of their numbers going down, their numbers have actually steadily increased every year since independence and gone way up!

In 1991, there are 150 million Indians who claim themselves to be of the schedule caste quota. In 2001, the number rises up to 230 million Indians!

2. Why You Can’t Eradicate Poverty By Giving Away Money

Eradicating poverty from the world is a good goal to have. But cutting cheques and providing special favours to the poorest people of the society doesn’t work in eradicating poverty at all!

In fact, all it’ll do is make people find ways in making sure they don’t get too rich – so that they can take advantage of the free welfare cheques and free education!

Because everything that is rewarded grows… if you reward poverty, how can you expect it to wither away?

3. The Smart Charity Philosophy

4. Give a Man a Fish…

“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” – Chinese Proverb.

Your job is to teach a man how to fish only when he is willing* to learn. And when he is willing to pay the price to learn.

*But how to build the desire in the hearts of poverty ridden people to raise their hands? To become willing to learn? To become willing to pay the price when they are already poor?

5. The English Experiment to Eradicate Poverty

A millennium ago, England is a small inconsequential island of barbarians, misfits, castoffs and losers. They are no where on the map in world affairs.

But that starts changing because of one Welsh monk: Geoffrey of Monmouth.

To instill pride in his countrymen, Geoffrey writes the book “The History of the Kings of Britain” that chronicles the lives of various British kings spanning close to 2000 years before 7 AD.

In it he narrates how Brutus – a descendant of the Trojan hero Aeneas (of Homer’s Illiad) first settles in Britain. And how Ceasar himself invades Britain. Geoffrey also tells us the tales of King Lear and Cymbeline and a few other Kings.

But perhaps the most well known part of his book is, he tells us the story of the rise and fall of King Arthur.

Then in early 15th century, Thomas Malory – a convict who is rotting in a prison in England - resurrects a few of these stories and writes “LeMorte D’Arthur” – the story of King Arthur and his noble knights of the roundtable!

At the same time, Gutenberg invents his printing press. And because of the printing press, LeMorte D’Arthur spreads and becomes a widely read book!

Soon, the little island of misfits, barbarians and losers start seeing themselves in a new light. They start seeing themselves as coming from a nation with a glorious history.

And then they start making some changes so that their reality reflects their history. They build one of the finest navies in the world. They invent the steam engine. And go on to conquer the world!

But here is the twist: not a word written by Geoffrey of Monmouth – who started the King Arthur craze - is true!

People will change themselves if they believe that they can. If they believe that someone in their position has already achieved great feats.

6. The Rich vs Poor Insight

“Rich people have large libraries, poor people have large TV’s.”
– Dan Kennedy

Give the poor people heroes they can look up to. And they will model after these heroes and change their lives!

Tell them rags-to-riches stories. And they will surprise you by rising out of poverty in record time!

Gift just one autobiographical rags-to-riches book to just one poor person to read. And see how his life changes.

Action Summary:

• The worst thing you can do to eradicate poverty is start giving the poor people free rides.

• The best thing you can do to eradicate poverty is make the poor people believe that there were others in their situation that rose above poverty, worked hard and are rich today.

• Give the poor people heroes. Tell them rags-to-riches stories. These stories will satisfy their hunger a lot more effectively than any free food programs. Because these stories will empower the poor people to earn their own food instead of relying on charity.

• Gift just one autobiographical book to one poor person today.

###

The Bangladeshi Experiment to Eradicate Poverty

Muhammad Yunus has perhaps done more to eradicate poverty than anyone else in the world. He started an organization in Bangladesh that gave out loans to poor people who wanted to start their own businesses. But he banded the people who wanted loans into groups. So that the group can motivate the members to work harder. And the group can create peer pressure on the members to pay back the loan on time.

Because of this idea of giving out mico-loans to groups, Yunus’s bank had a 98% rate of loan payback (better than most banks out there)!

Today, Kiva has made the concept of mico-loans a lot easier. You can loan money to poor people with business ideas online. These lenders will send you email updates on their progress. And pay the loan back within 6-12 months.

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Comments:

Comment by Gunjan Karun

2008-10-15 16:47:25

Hi Ankesh,
This post is exactly what every Indian with an iota of common sense thinks.

But the problem is that it is much easier for the politicians to announce an increase in the reservation quota then plan out a system that solves a problem.

I guess we need more educated people who take decisions on our behalf.

I hope this post reaches the policy makers

Take care
Gunjan

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Comment by Ankesh Kothari

2008-10-17 19:14:33

Thanks Gunjan for commenting.

Actually its in the politicians best interest to never get rid of schedule caste quotas in India because these castes make for a very vocal vote bank. So no politician will make them angry by getting rid of free education.

The jolt needs to come from outside politics. My best bet and hope is some NGO filing a case against the quota system in the Supreme Court.

You need bureaucracy to fight bureaucracy

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Comment by Michelle

2008-10-15 23:29:37

“…if you reward poverty, how can you expect it to wither away? ”

Absolutely.

I needed to be reminded of our prior conversation. Things didn’t go well. Handouts were expected. Conversation wasn’t. On to the deserving!

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Comment by Ankesh Kothari

2008-10-17 19:17:12

Thanks Michelle.

I love your helping attitude.

Am sad that things didn’t work out for the lady and her kids you were trying to help. But am glad that you haven’t let that dampen your attitude.

On to the deserving… absolutely!

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Comment by Rod Newbound

2008-10-17 22:37:15

Wonderfully done Ankesh. Thanks.

As you might suspect this problem exists in another form in the US, the reasons it persists are exactly the same.

Thanks,
Rod

PS. It’s interesting to note that rags to riches stories used to be very popular in the US, but the elitists here have done everything in their power to convince the populace they were just fairy tales. And that’s is wrong to try to go from rags to riches… the “one pie” theory of economics.

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Comment by Ankesh Kothari

2008-10-18 12:02:43

Thanks Rod.

I think its a sad story about rags-to-riches stories not getting as popular today as they used to.

Only about 3 of the 100 odd rags-to-riches books written by Horatio Algers are still in print today!

But I think (read = hope) that will change. When the economy is at its bottom, thats when new heroes and stories rise.

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Comment by Kelly@SHE-POWER

2008-10-18 03:41:42

Inspiring and intriguing post, Ankesh. I live in Australia where we do have a safety net of welfare and we do have a good standard of free education and healthcare in comparison to many other countries. I think in a country as wealthy as ours this is morally right. I think every child deserves a chance to be healthy and educated and create their own opportunities.

In countries such as India your situation historically is so much more complex. I thank you for this insight, and I have heard of Yunus - he is a great man. Kiva is also an organization I am proud to be able to support. I actually think we gain by helping others as much as they gain by being helped.

Thanks for such a wonderful post.

Kelly@SHE-POWER

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Comment by Ankesh Kothari

2008-10-18 12:18:31

Thanks Kelly for the comment

At the macro level - richness is not having more money. Richness is circulation of money. And so you’re absolutely right - the fewer poor people we have, the better off the entire society/world will be. And so you’re absolutely right when you say we gain by helping others as much as they gain by being helped. (And if you meant we gain mental satisfaction by helping others - that too.)

Saying that, I think human nature is the same everywhere. And welfare systems may help a few folks. But overall, its a failure. Because it rewards poverty.

Case in point: Michelle who commented above. She tried to help a very poor lady with 12 kids in USA. But nothing much came out of it except frustation. Because the poor lady was just looking for free handouts. She wasn’t willing to put in the effort to change. She actually used to get a massive cable bill - when all her kids didn’t even have decent clothes to wear… all her attempts to help failed.

The only surefire way of rising above poverty is raising the *desire* in their hearts to become richer.

Once that desire is raised and the poor person is willing to pay her dues, then providing all the help we can works out well. Until then, its usually a waste of time and effort.

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Comment by Ankesh Kothari

2008-10-18 12:24:36

In summary - what I mean to say is - the first step has to come from the poverty ridden folks.

They need to realize that they should change their ways.

And the best way to make them realize this is by telling them about rags-to-riches stories and giving them personal heroes.

(Comments wont nest below this level)

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Comment by Kelly@SHE-POWER

2008-10-18 16:03:44

Ankesh

I agree with you, but my point would be that good education and health is the basis of any just society and is not a handout. Children of poor folks need a decent education and mentoring/community services even more so than other children who will be able to emulate what they see at home. Adults can be expected to accept the consequences of their poor choices, but children should never have to pay for their parents’ sins.

Great discussion
Kelly

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Comment by hammy

2008-10-20 20:38:34

Nice article. Thought provoking

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Comment by Ankesh Kothari

2008-11-18 18:57:16

Thanks Hammy

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Comment by CCGAL

2008-10-21 10:33:35

Very interesting book on this subject was written in 1966: PASS THE POVERTY PLEASE by Patty Newman in Collaboration with Joyce Wenger. I read this in 2006, 40 years after it was written, and was amazed at how accurate the predictions were. This blog post makes an excellent point, one which needs to be spread as far and wide as possible: That which is rewarded, grows. We need to begin rewarding thrift, altruism, delayed gratification and other values that build up rather than tear down the fabric of our society.

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Comment by Ankesh Kothari

2008-11-18 19:00:21

Excellent points CCGAL.

I haven’t read Pass the Poverty Please - will see if I can find it in my local bookstore.

I’m not sure thrift helps the economy on a macro level (because country’s prosperity depends on the rate of the circulation of money). But I agree with the thought of rewarding important factors that will lead to prosperity.

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Comment by Kumail.H.T

2008-10-22 17:24:21

Hi,

This is my first time here, I did not read all of it, just skimmed through.

I cant agree more over this quote “Tell them rags-to-riches stories. And they will surprise you by rising out of poverty in record time!”

If we can make them believe that they are capable of achieving heights if they want to, they will atleast try to get there rather than give up forever.

I like the way you think, and I LOL’d on your header

Kumail.H.T

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Comment by Ankesh Kothari

2008-11-18 19:01:29

Thanks Kumail for commenting on the header

Hope you did read the entire post after posting the comment - because you liked the content.

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Comment by Mansi

2008-11-15 01:32:07

Very well written. Great food for thought!

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Comment by Ankesh Kothari

2008-11-18 19:03:27

Thanks Mansi

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Comment by Lindylou

2008-11-17 03:35:31

Incredible post! I copied a few quotes onto twitter to direct people to this site. Thank you for writing this. 20 years ago in college a black professor (I just read she is a rare person - only 5-8% college professor are black today) told me in an education training class (Foundations of Education) about self-fulfilling prophecy. This was the first time I had ever heard of the term. She explained that as teachers we needed to set the bar high and tell children what great things they could do in life through working hard, learning and applying themself… but most of all by believing it was possible for them to achieve great things…to become their highest dreams…

As a Christian Teacher now, I call this being “My utmost for His highest!”…being the best I can absolutely be for God’s glory!

This is a wonderful post! Again thank you for writing it.

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Comment by Ankesh Kothari

2008-11-18 19:05:06

Thanks Lindylou.

You sound like an excellent teacher (any teacher who understands that nothing helps kids more than their expectations off them has to be a superb teacher.)

And also thanks a lot for spreading this post via twitter Much appreciated.

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Comment by Maulik Doshi

2008-11-18 14:20:46

I completely agree to this post and it stands very close to the concept of de-criminalising the society; which means not just to punish the criminal but to see to it that no one does it. And this is exactly where our modern education fails. We give children the power to do things but forget to give them the direction where it should lead to.

Excellent Post! Keep up with good work!

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Comment by Ankesh Kothari

2008-11-18 19:05:39

Thanks Maulik for your comment.

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Comment by Paul Wolfe

2008-12-10 00:06:39

hey Ankesh

Great post.

Should be required reading in the UK. IN the last 10 years the government have pumped billions into the public sector - all they have done is put more people on welfare payments and bloat the hospital system and the school system with burocrats.

The UK has the highest number of teenage mothers in europe - if you’re 14,15 or 16 and get pregnant, almost automatically you get housed by the council, get benefits etc etc - and the politicians wonder why we have such high percentages of young girls getting pregnant.

I could go on and on - but all I will say is keep writing great posts!

Paul

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Comment by Chris

2008-12-31 16:22:44

An interesting and valuable post, but strikes me as simplistic and dangerous. The very poor, often malnourished, close to starvation and socially vulnerable, can’t afford to take the necessary risks to aim beyond their meagre predicament. If someone has a child to feed, they can’t be expected to invest their precious subsistence in a potentially risky business - they must struggle on as they have done. Also, having had no education themselves, how can they run the business? Many microcredit businesses just left people in more debt as the businesses failed because they were ripped off or mismanaged. To say that ‘hope’ is all that is needed is I think patronizing - this post is in danger of implying that all poor people are inventing their predicament due to emotional inability. In fact many poor people have been suckered into programs offering them hope, run by NGOs, that have left them ostracized from their communities and further impoverished.

Throw in regional conflict, economic exclusion, etc, and you have a much broader picture. I can’t recommend the book “A Fine Balance” enough for another picture of the complex trap of poverty, as viewed from the bottom.

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Comment by Chris

2008-12-31 16:25:38

…as for the ‘developed’ countries, witness the popularity of the lottery, scratch cards and mention crime, as a sign that these people are desperately hoping to get out of their predicament, often taking huge risks. If there was a better way out they’d take it.

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