Has it ever occured to you to think about the difference between having money and being wealthy ? Did you know that there are some people who have a lot of money and yet poor ?
According to Paul Graham (see references below) wealth is stuff that we want : food , clothing, cars, houses , gadgets , etc . Money on the other hand, is a means of exchange for wealth in a predefined area . For example, in Zambia our means of exchange of wealth within the boundaries of the country is the Kwacha. In South Africa its the Rand and so forth for other countries. Whenever you travel outside the country , you have to exchange your local money into that which is used in the country you are travelling to. Some money such as the American dollar is accepted as a means of exchange of wealth across many nations.
Money in itself is not wealth. Suppose you were given $1 million today , you would certainly jump up in joy because you will be an instant millionaire !
But wait a minute , where were you given that $1 million? Suppose you, somehow, found yourself with that sort of money in the middle of a desert, where there is no food and water nearby, would it be of any use to you ? If you were not rescued in time , you would certainly die of hunger and thirst.
On the hand if you had food, water and some shelter from the great heat of the desert you would survive for a greater length of time without the money .
In this world the so called poor nations have a lot of natural resources in form of minerals, tourist attractions, etc .These resources are exchanged with foreign money, which is commonly referred to as foreign exchange. This money is in turn, used to import finished goods from the "rich" countries where the resources are exported to.
This is a vicious circle in which the countries with a lot of wealth in terms of natural resources find themselves poor because they have no technology to make finished goods (wealth) from their own natural resources.
What then should be done in order to redress this situation ?
Some countries in Asia that were regarded as being poor before , have turned their economies around by exchanging their natural resources with technology to develop themselves.
The challenge is therefore on those countries which have not yet done so to develop their means to create wealth from their abundant natural resources. If this is not done, they shall remain poor despite being wealthy !
"References : "How To Make Wealth" an essay by Paul Graham (2004) . Website link
http://www.paulgraham.com/wealth.html
Originally published in the book "Hackers and Painters - Big Ideas from the Computer Age" a hard cover copy is available at Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d.html/ref=redir_mdp_mobile/187-3280454-6575621?redirect=true&a=0596006624
Showing posts with label poor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label poor. Show all posts
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Mirage of Affluence
When I was doing my secondary school education , I was staying in a boarding dormitory at a school which is based in the Western Province of Zambia. The school was run by a Christian Missionary Society . It provided free education to the community in conjunction with the Government's Ministry of Education in Lusaka.
As a child brought up in one of the rural parts of the province, it was a new experience for me to come to use some of the amenities (such as running water and flushing toilets) which were only found in administrative towns and cities of the country. Another new experience was having rice porridge with skimmed milk and sugar for breakfast on an alternative basis with maize porridge.
The "rice" breakfast , as it was commonly referred to by the pupils, was the most popular amongst us. It was regarded as a "European" type of food which was only eaten by the affluent in society.
Due to economic changes in the country,
the school budget became more and more tight. One of the consequences of the reduced budget was the phasing out of the "European" type rice breakfast. This new development brought anguish to all the pupils.
I remember a discussion I had with some friends, where we vowed that once we complete our education and join the working class, we shall be having rice breakfast on a daily basis !
As I joined the working class, years after my secondary education , this vow was never realised !
In life what looks like a necessity today will not remain so forever. Human nature is always to yearn for a "better" living. Once that has been achieved, more and more will be demanded.
No amount of money that one has will ever satisfy his or her needs. This is because these expand as the buying power increases.
The "poor" always envy the "rich". They think that the affluent have no problems because of their money. This is an illusion because the more wealth one has, the more problems (and enemies) he has. Stories are abound regarding this fact .
What one needs in order to sustain life is a shelter , food and clothing. These should be available in moderation. There is no need , for example, to live in a 6 bedroomed house , having a stock of food in three refrigerators and twenty pairs of shoes per person for a family of 4 !
In the Holy Bible it says "Remove falsehood and lies far from me; do not give me poverty or riches, feed me with my allotted portion of bread, lest I become satisfied and act deceptively and say, "Who is the Lord?" Or lest I become poor and steal and demean the name of my God." (Proverbs 30:8-9).
Stay blessed and do not be tricked by the mirage of affluence !
As a child brought up in one of the rural parts of the province, it was a new experience for me to come to use some of the amenities (such as running water and flushing toilets) which were only found in administrative towns and cities of the country. Another new experience was having rice porridge with skimmed milk and sugar for breakfast on an alternative basis with maize porridge.
The "rice" breakfast , as it was commonly referred to by the pupils, was the most popular amongst us. It was regarded as a "European" type of food which was only eaten by the affluent in society.
Due to economic changes in the country,
the school budget became more and more tight. One of the consequences of the reduced budget was the phasing out of the "European" type rice breakfast. This new development brought anguish to all the pupils.
I remember a discussion I had with some friends, where we vowed that once we complete our education and join the working class, we shall be having rice breakfast on a daily basis !
As I joined the working class, years after my secondary education , this vow was never realised !
In life what looks like a necessity today will not remain so forever. Human nature is always to yearn for a "better" living. Once that has been achieved, more and more will be demanded.
No amount of money that one has will ever satisfy his or her needs. This is because these expand as the buying power increases.
The "poor" always envy the "rich". They think that the affluent have no problems because of their money. This is an illusion because the more wealth one has, the more problems (and enemies) he has. Stories are abound regarding this fact .
What one needs in order to sustain life is a shelter , food and clothing. These should be available in moderation. There is no need , for example, to live in a 6 bedroomed house , having a stock of food in three refrigerators and twenty pairs of shoes per person for a family of 4 !
In the Holy Bible it says "Remove falsehood and lies far from me; do not give me poverty or riches, feed me with my allotted portion of bread, lest I become satisfied and act deceptively and say, "Who is the Lord?" Or lest I become poor and steal and demean the name of my God." (Proverbs 30:8-9).
Stay blessed and do not be tricked by the mirage of affluence !
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