A definition for poverty

How poverty is defined Is essential as a starting point to this argument. The definition can fluctuate drastically depending on who you ask. The answers are almost as varied as the proposed solutions. As nice as It Is to Imagine ways to fix the problem we need to first define what the problem Is. If we are looking at poverty as a problem that has existed before us and will almost definitely continue to exist after us we need a definition that can function as a universal. That is a much more difficult ask than saying under X- thousand dollars a year.A brief note: for this definition we will be working with the understanding of economics as a zero sum game, meaning that there is a finite number of resources a society can produce. To accomplish this we will need to start at the very beginning and work our way forward to the present day. As far back as we can go in terms of economics is to look at modern day tribal societies that still use hunter gatherer systems, with little of what we would call modern economics. Although many of these societies are far from deal most people would agree that even by the most broad definition poverty does not exist In them.This Is because of two major reasons, the first Is that In a hunting and gathering society people are the most valuable resource and keeping everyone in the tribe satisfied and healthy is of utmost importance. The second is that without agriculture and industry there can be no surplus and therefore no one can own more goods than anyone else for a significant amount of time. With the advent of agriculture on a large scale people were able to develop surpluses either by skill or y luck and to use those surpluses to their advantage.This is when we start to see classes of people emerge, both those with more wealth than others and those with less. Although early agriculture varied from place to place and time to time generally we can say that this Is when the differences In peoples access to goods reached levels that could be considered poverty. Fundamentally then poverty exists when a fraction of a society Is lacking a surplus of the goods needed for subsistence and another fraction of the society has a wealth of such goods. Poverty cannot exist without wealth, and vice versa.More specifically poverty is living at or below subsistence in a society that produces enough raw goods for each member to live at, but contains many who live above that, and a few who live far above that. Poverty has no quantifiable level and words like subsistence are relative to th e the society in which it exists. Though no definition can be perfect this understanding of poverty does justice to how complicated a phenomenon it is, and importantly emphasizes the irony that poverty can only exist is societies that can produce more than they need to consume.

Unit 3 Discussion Board Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 6

Unit 3 Discussion Board - Essay Example Every product goes through a particular life cycle and the strategy that must be applied will differ in each instance. For instance, during the early stages, company strategy must focus upon achieving competitiveness through judicious pricing, heavy marketing and expenses on R&D. During the later declining stage of the product life cycle, the emphasis is on broadening the product line and avoiding price cuts.(Wasson, 1974). On the basis of a product’s market share and growth based upon its life cycle, the BCG places the product portfolio of a Company into four different quadrants of a matrix, with the relative market share of the product ranked along the X axis and product growth ranked along the Y axis. Businesses in each quadrant will have significantly different tendencies to consume or generate cash. The appliances division of my Company has been placed in the upper right quadrant of the matrix, which represents the wildcat or question mark. This suggests that the division has a negative cash flow, requiring â€Å"large cash inputs that it cannot generate itself.† (Henderson, 1979, p166). Wildcat ventures are often fledgling operations and offer the promise of future generation of revenue. The major aspect to be addressed in the case of the appliances division is thus market share. Since the products may typically have a low market share because they are not well known, the recommended strategy would be to introduce a competitive price for the product as compared to similar products already in the market. It is also recommended that an aggressive advertising and promotional campaign is implemented, in order to increase sales of the product and improve its market share. In the event the market share of the product does not improve, then it may turn into a â€Å"dog† or become unproductive, and before that happens it is better to sell off the products or close up the division. Woo and Cooper (1980) have points

Analysis of Death Penalty Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Analysis of Death Penalty - Research Paper Example Several militaries impose the death penalty for disciplinary offenses such as desertion, mutiny, and cowardice. According to Amnesty International, 58 countries have retained the death penalty as a method of punishing serious crime in society. Countries like China, North Korea, and Yemen have the highest number of executions. Statistics point out that at least people were convicted for death in those countries in 2012. Accordingly, 21 countries including Syria and Egypt carried out executions in 2012. The Middle East region witnessed more than 500 executions. Bahrain sentenced eight people to death between 2007 and 2012 and executed two death row convicts during the same period. Some methods of executing the death penalty include shooting at close range, electrocution, hanging, beheading, and lethal injection. Thesis statement: the death penalty should be abolished since it violates human rights and fails in deterring crime in the society. Opponents of the death penalty call for its abolishment by arguing that it contravenes the international human rights (Gottfried 10). Several countries have ratified the International Human rights charter that safeguards the inherent right to life and freedom from any inhumane or degrading treatment. Accordingly, the death penalty takes away the right to life thus entrenching cruel and unusual punishments such as lethal injection and execution. The opponents argue that this is barbaric practices associated with slavery and have no place in a modern and civilized society (Gottfried 22). The opponents argue that it is immoral and unethical since it degrades the inherent dignity of human life. Accordingly, some religious teachings such as Christianity forbid the use of the death penalty as a means of punishing crime. Although Islamic teaching allows for death punishment in cases of murder, the family of the victim can instead ask for financial compensation and pardon the murderer from the death sentence. The punishment leads to severe pain and contravenes the civilized treatment of human beings that should be accorded to every citizen (Gottfried 34). The punishment also leads to suffering to the immediate family members and relatives of the executed criminals. However, proponents argue that it will lead to the greatest happiness in the society since most of the citizens are law-abiding and execution of few individuals will lead to law and order in the society (Gottfried 39). The opponents argue that the arbitrary application of the death penalty is possible and sometimes it leads to the execution of innocent individuals. Abolitionists of this sentence argue that it is irrevocable. Accordingly, there are instances where convicted individuals have been freed after a successful appeal from death row thus suggesting that judges sometimes error in their sentencing (Gottfried 44). In addition, the imposition of this sentence denies the executed criminal the opportunity to benefit from new laws or new evidence th at can warrant the reversal of death sentence or freedom of the individual (Gottfried 91). Abolitionists have pointed out that this punishment is applied discriminatively thus violating the principle of equal protection.  Ã‚