essay on inequality and poverty

Poverty and Inequality in Modern World Essay

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Poverty and inequality are the main problems that affected the world today. Overpopulation and poverty manifest themselves most dramatically and visibly in the housing conditions of the cities. Those unable to afford regular housing, or to purchase undeveloped land, congregate in illegal or squatter settlements (shantytowns), especially around the major metropolises.

According to Sachs, the main causes of poverty are different economic development of the nations, legal and social problems, and the inability of small governments to fight diseases and improve medical services. The poverty that affects the urban poor is particularly felt by women, whose health and psyches are closely tied to their roles as wives and mothers. Violence, calamity, and fear have become part of the life of many urbanites in recent decades. Wars between nations, civil wars, revolutions, riots, and protests have all complicated life in the cities and compounded already pressing urban problems. “Poverty is a result of corrupt leadership and retrograde cultures that impede modern development” (Sachs 52). Depending on the specific country, numbers ranging from dozens to hundreds of thousands of persons have died as the result of violent conflicts. Even more, have been injured, and millions have become displaced persons, either internally or as official international refugees. “People are the “poorest of the poor,” or the “extremely poor” of the planet. They all live in developing countries (poverty does exist in rich countries, but it is not extreme poverty)” (Sachs, p. 14).

We should be concerned about world poverty because it influenced developed nations and their development. Poverty can be compared with diseases that affected third world countries and but infected the developed countries as well. In fact, there are millions of refugees in the Middle East, more than any other region in the world (a figure that does not include the millions displaced within countries). The struggle for power and control of governments is one of the most prominent issues–and conflicts–facing the world today. Headed by monarchies and dictatorships, and only a few democracies, the region’s political systems are anachronistic compared to those in much of the world; and the people want a greater voice in their own destinies. In most cases, opposition to the government is led by specific groups, especially within cities and particularly in the national capitals. Examining a number of factors of urbanization, they emphasize that it is not simply urban growth and huge population increases that cause political unrest. Rather, specific grievances or sharp declines in the status quo (food prices or availability of employment opportunities in particular) are more significant (McKibben, p. 115).

In order to eliminate poverty countries should invest in medicine and healthcare, educate people about diseases and support local economies. The author suggests what factors will lead either to amelioration of problems, simmering (no improvement but no violence), or the outbreak of political violence. Migration continued unabated, fueled initially, by the new government’s promises of land and housing in the cities. An extremely high rate of natural population growth also spurred urban expansion (Sachs, p. 74). The local government system, consisting of provincial local administration (an extension of the office of centrally appointed provincial government responsible for certain local functions), municipalities, and villages, was based on the principle of delegation, and not devolution, of authority. The duties of the local governmental units were delineated in great detail by numerous laws. The central government also had close control of the financial resources of the local governmental units (McKibben, p. 150).

Women are unable to achieve normal personhood through motherhood, their predicament highlights the cultural imperative of motherhood, the pressures that all women experience on the way to becoming full-fledged mothers, and the resultant desires of women to prove themselves “productive” in the reproductive realm, thereby “tying their husbands with children.” the gender politics of marriage among the urban poor, focusing explicitly on the identity and marital crises that revolve around the reproductive dilemmas of infertility and excess fertility. “The truck could rush women with childbirth complications and children with acute complications of anemia to the hospital” (Sachs, p. 253). Although most poor urban husbands do not exercise their socially sanctioned power and authority in the negative ways to be described in this paper, many still do, precipitating marital crises for their unempowered wives. Such conjugal crises will be described in the stories of two women, whose names and those of their husbands have been changed to protect their privacy. As a result, their children may be malnourished and sickly, and infant and child mortality is an experience common to many poor urban families.

The commercial portions of the informal sector are located largely in public space and at transportation nodes with high-density pedestrian traffic. Service portions are usually hidden from public view, especially those in the marginal, illegal, and female-based portions of the informal sector. Gender dimensions within the informal sector have generally been underestimated and unappreciated. Police intervention, licensing, and administrative supervision serve to fashion a position for the informal sector within the larger urban economy. The lack of alternative economic modes also serves to perpetuate it. As such, the informal sector can be defined as a special economic niche within a unitary but structurally diverse economic system, rather than part of a parallel or dual system. Participants in the informal sector follow highly patterned internal organization and regulation; it is not a spontaneous or unstructured activity, despite terminology suggesting the opposite. Some historical studies of the urban Middle East also show that the informal economy has been present in one degree or another for many centuries (McKibben, p. 160). The crisis facing modern cities is reflected in the health and nutritional status of their residents. Although economists may argue that household incomes are the most unambiguous measure of household well-being, many planners also consider health and nutritional status as key summary indicators of quality of life. Similar to income, health status and nutrition are not only outcome measures but they predict productivity and economic growth (Sachs, p. 78).

I agree with Sachs’s conclusions and suppose that massive investments in health, education, food security, and housing will be required if the continued urbanization is to be linked to economic growth and increased equity of access to the satisfaction of basic human needs. Much of the city’s recent growth has been characterized by absorption of additional generations and population from the rural areas into old, dilapidated housing and even into structures not intended for permanent habitation; a large portion of new construction has been of the informal, “wildcat” type outside of oversight or adherence to health and safety standards. The shortage of housing units is more than a quarter-million by official estimates, and almost all of the poor population lives in substandard housing. The pressure on housing has resulted in the utilization of practically every available space within the city for human dwelling purposes. Analysis of large-scale trends and statistics related to urban crisis reveals important information about major migrations, population shifts, and economic interactions, but it also necessarily neglects the microlevel politics of individual daily lives and routine relationships (Sachs, p. 77). By examining a movement such as the new veiling in Cairo through a small-scale study, we can better understand important aspects of these larger trends. People’s own accounts of the crises they face in their everyday lives emerge, allowing us to understand in concrete terms how political change is played out and giving us important new information about abstractions such as “Islamic fundamentalism,” “population explosion,” “mass poverty,” and “urban crisis.” By listening to women in the lower-middle class, it is possible to see the realities of urban crisis and political change. The degree to which these pressure points are problematic can vary from high to medium to low, and they tend to vary between large and small to medium-sized cities as well as between cities in developing countries and those in developed countries. Hence, we find that all of the pressure points, except for recreation and crime, are high for the large cities in developing countries; but only energy, education, and health are high-pressure points for small and medium-sized cities in developing countries. The cities of the Middle East would generally fit this pattern, except that crime is probably a low-pressure point even in the largest cities. Perhaps the result of strong family values and the pervasive moral influence of Islam, the low crime rate is at least one positive attribute of Middle Eastern cities compared not only to the rest of the developing world but to the developed world as well, where street crime is one of the worst urban problems.

• McKibben, Bill. Deep Economy . Times Books, 2007.
• Sachs, Jeffrey. The End of Poverty. Penguin, 2005.
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• Urban Relationship Between Poverty and Crime
• Poverty and Inequality Reduction Strategies
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• Social Services for the Individual
• Poverty as a General Problem
• Spare Change: Giving Money to the “Undeserving Poor”
• Social Inequality in the United States
• Feminization of Poverty - A Grave Social Concern
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

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5 Essays About Poverty Everyone Should Know

Poverty is one of the driving forces of inequality in the world. Between 1990-2015, much progress was made. The number of people living on less than $1.90 went from 36% to 10%. However, according to the World Bank , the COVID-19 pandemic represents a serious problem that disproportionately impacts the poor. Research released in February of 2020 shows that by 2030, up to ⅔ of the “global extreme poor” will be living in conflict-affected and fragile economies. Poverty will remain a major human rights issue for decades to come. Here are five essays about the issue that everyone should know:

“We need an economic bill of rights” –  Martin Luther King Jr.

The Guardian published an abridged version of this essay in 2018, which was originally released in Look magazine just after Dr. King was killed. In this piece, Dr. King explains why an economic bill of rights is necessary. He points out that while mass unemployment within the black community is a “social problem,” it’s a “depression” in the white community. An economic bill of rights would give a job to everyone who wants one and who can work. It would also give an income to those who can’t work. Dr. King affirms his commitment to non-violence. He’s fully aware that tensions are high. He quotes a spiritual, writing “timing is winding up.” Even while the nation progresses, poverty is getting worse.

This essay was reprinted and abridged in The Guardian in an arrangement with The Heirs to the Estate of Martin Luther King. Jr. The most visible representative of the Civil Rights Movement beginning in 1955, Dr. King was assassinated in 1968. His essays and speeches remain timely.

“How Poverty Can Follow Children Into Adulthood” – Priyanka Boghani

This article is from 2017, but it’s more relevant than ever because it was written when 2012 was the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. That’s no longer the case. In 2012, around ¼ American children were in poverty. Five years later, children were still more likely than adults to be poor. This is especially true for children of colour. Consequences of poverty include anxiety, hunger, and homelessness. This essay also looks at the long-term consequences that come from growing up in poverty. A child can develop health problems that affect them in adulthood. Poverty can also harm a child’s brain development. Being aware of how poverty affects children and follows them into adulthood is essential as the world deals with the economic fallout from the pandemic.

Priyanka Boghani is a journalist at PBS Frontline. She focuses on U.S. foreign policy, humanitarian crises, and conflicts in the Middle East. She also assists in managing Frontline’s social accounts.

“5 Reasons COVID-19 Will Impact the Fight to End Extreme Poverty” – Leah Rodriguez

For decades, the UN has attempted to end extreme poverty. In the face of the novel coronavirus outbreak, new challenges threaten the fight against poverty. In this essay, Dr. Natalie Linos, a Harvard social epidemiologist, urges the world to have a “social conversation” about how the disease impacts poverty and inequality. If nothing is done, it’s unlikely that the UN will meet its Global Goals by 2030. Poverty and COVID-19 intersect in five key ways. For one, low-income people are more vulnerable to disease. They also don’t have equal access to healthcare or job stability. This piece provides a clear, concise summary of why this outbreak is especially concerning for the global poor.

Leah Rodriguez’s writing at Global Citizen focuses on women, girls, water, and sanitation. She’s also worked as a web producer and homepage editor for New York Magazine’s The Cut.

“Climate apartheid”: World’s poor to suffer most from disasters” – Al Jazeera and news Agencies

The consequences of climate change are well-known to experts like Philip Alston, the special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights. In 2019, he submitted a report to the UN Human Rights Council sounding the alarm on how climate change will devastate the poor. While the wealthy will be able to pay their way out of devastation, the poor will not. This will end up creating a “climate apartheid.” Alston states that if climate change isn’t addressed, it will undo the last five decades of progress in poverty education, as well as global health and development .

“Nickel and Dimed: On (not) getting by in America” – Barbara Ehrenreich

In this excerpt from her book Nickel and Dimed, Ehrenreich describes her experience choosing to live undercover as an “unskilled worker” in the US. She wanted to investigate the impact the 1996 welfare reform act had on the working poor. Released in 2001, the events take place between the spring of 1998 and the summer of 2000. Ehrenreich decided to live in a town close to her “real life” and finds a place to live and a job. She has her eyes opened to the challenges and “special costs” of being poor. In 2019, The Guardian ranked the book 13th on their list of 100 best books of the 21st century.

Barbara Ehrenreich is the author of 21 books and an activist. She’s worked as an award-winning columnist and essayist.

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About the author, emmaline soken-huberty.

Emmaline Soken-Huberty is a freelance writer based in Portland, Oregon. She started to become interested in human rights while attending college, eventually getting a concentration in human rights and humanitarianism. LGBTQ+ rights, women’s rights, and climate change are of special concern to her. In her spare time, she can be found reading or enjoying Oregon’s natural beauty with her husband and dog.

Home — Essay Samples — Economics — Economic Inequality — Poverty and Economic Inequality: Current American Issues

Poverty and Economic Inequality: Current American Issues

• Categories: Economic Inequality Income Inequality Poverty in America

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Words: 681 |

Published: Aug 30, 2022

Words: 681 | Page: 1 | 4 min read

Table of contents

Economic inequality and its multifaceted impact, public perception of economic inequality, works cited:.

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• Lerner, M. (2012). Moral development. In V. S. Ramachandran (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Human Behavior (2nd ed., Vol. 3, pp. 198-202). Elsevier.
• National Honor Society. (2023). About Us.
• Pruitt, S. (2018). How volunteering can help you professionally. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/samanthapruitt/2018/05/03/how-volunteering-can-help-you-professionally/?sh=5b4418e1317f
• Senior Living Residences. (2023). Our Communities.
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• VolunteerMatch. (2023). Volunteer opportunities.

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