blog task 1 for term 3

"The mother of revolution and crime is poverty"(Aristotle)Do you agree?

The statement “the mother of revolution and crime is poverty” by Aristotle is only true to a small extent. I think that this is largely a sweeping statement. This statement by Aristotle singles out poverty as the main cause of revolution and crime. In my opinion, it is indeed true that poverty cause revolution but it is not the case for causing crimes.

Revolution is an overthrow or repudiation and the thorough replacement of an established government or political system by the people governed. Revolution can be said to be caused by poverty. Should the people be well off, they would not be unhappy with their government. Should the people have enough food to eat, they would not blame their sorry plight on the government. Therefore, the main reason that arises from people overthrowing their government is poverty, as these people seek to have a better life in the aftermath of the revolution. One does not need to look too far from the Revolution of 1911 in China, where the monarchy was overthrown, to explain that poverty is the cause of revolutions. One of the causes of revolution pointed out at the hard life of the Chinese people where about 90% of the population in China were poor peasants. The famine was widespread but the government did little to help regions where many peasants has literally starved to death. Hence, it was not surprising that the peasants welcomed the revolution as it provided them a chance to change their life.

Another example that can further support the statement that the cause of revolution is poverty is the revolution that took place in Russia in 1905, and another two revolutions in 1917. The first revolution in 1905 took place due to food shortages, deteriorating living and working conditions and a losing war against Japan. The second revolution, known as the February revolution of 1917, was also caused by the same reasons that caused the first revolution. The third revolution, known as the October revolution, arise after the Provisional Government had proved to be equally ineffective as the previous rule. These three revolutions served as a purpose to remind people that poverty can cause the people to support revolutionary groups to overthrow the government, in search of a better life.

However, to solely point the finger at poverty being the root of all revolution is not justified. There can be other causes of revolution. Taking the 1911 revolution in China for example, the main cause of the revolution was actually the Manchu government being weak and inefficient. It was the government’s inefficiency that led to the problems that China faced in 1911. One such problem was the foreign intervention in China where the foreign countries made China sign unequal treaties. Hence, although it is true that poverty is a large cause of revolutions, we should not neglect other factors that can play important roles in causing revolutions to occur.

With poverty being justified to be one of the main causes of revolution, we shall now explore whether poverty is the cause of crime. Crime is an action or an instance of negligence that is deemed injurious to the public welfare or morals or to the interests of the state and that is legally prohibited. I feel that poverty only lead to specific crimes like theft, kidnapping or burglary. A poor person who is feeling helpless and hopeless may resort to stealing in order to get more food to support his family. This person may be driven by greed, anger or desperation. One does not need to look too far away from the multiple stories of drug abusers resorting to theft to get money to buy drugs to satisfy their craving.

However, to blame poverty as the main cause of crime may be too hasty an accusation. Some people may steal for the thrill of it. For example, people diagnosed with Kleptomania cannot control their compulsion to steal although they may not be poor. Also, some crimes are committed not because the person is poor, but because of the selfish and greedy wants of a person. For example, a rapist commits rape to satisfy his or her lust or sexual need. A murderer may murder his or her victim due to anger and hatred for the victim. These criminals however, are not victims of poverty. Hence, the argument that poverty is the cause of crime is an invalid one.

In conclusion, Aristotle’s statement that the mother of revolution and crime is poverty is only true to a certain extent. While poverty can be viewed as the catalyst to revolution, it cannot totally be pinpointed as the main cause of revolution. Also, poverty can only cause certain types of crime like theft or kidnapping. However, not all cases of these crimes are associated with poverty and there are also other crimes that cannot be justified to be caused by poverty.

Case study articles

lookism

1. Discrimination or prejudice based on a person's physical appearance.

http://www.geocities.com/s_cullars/lookism.htm

http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=123853&page=1

http://www.personneltoday.com/Articles/2005/04/18/29307/overweight-and-underpaid-as-lookism-sweeps-the-world.html


Ageism
1. Discrimination against persons of a certain age group.
2. A tendency to regard older persons as debilitated, unworthy of attention, or unsuitable for employment.

http://www.apa.org/monitor/may03/fighting.html

http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/ageism.html



Disablism

Disalism is used to describe inherent discrimination against people with disabilities in favor of people who are not disabled

http://www.personneltoday.com/Articles/2007/06/13/40965/disability-discrimination-and-extending-company-sick-pay.html

Xenophobia

An unreasonable fear or hatred of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange.