Altruism, poverty and community

Altruism, poverty and community

The brutality of poverty is almost inconceivable for anyone who has never experienced it. Extreme poverty leaves the poor at the mercy of philanthropic who have the desire in them to help them. The selfishness of the rich greatly influences the gap between the rich and the poor. The community can significantly benefit from selfless acts of helping the poor and the needy in our society, leading to a reduction in the poverty level. The primary focus of this paper is to discuss the relationship between altruism and poverty eradication in the community.

Acts of altruism encourage charitable donations. Contributions from well-wishers play a very significant role in poverty eradication in our societies. People who are selfless in their giving derive their happiness in other people’s happiness. Their acts of giving are mainly driven by their passion for reducing the suffering of the other person and seeing them happy. There is a significant number in our societies who live below the poverty line, and the numerous donations from good wishers help improve the living conditions of the poor in the community. For example, people can seek donations to provide food and medical aid to a community that is stricken by drought and famine. The contributions will improve the health status of those suffering, leading to productivity in society.

Altruism helps reduce the dependency ratio. In many low-income families, the number of people who depend on financially stable ones is usually high. The leads to most families living below the poverty line. Acts of selfless giving to these families like providing basic needs to these families and offering employment opportunities to members of the low-income families help reduce the dependency ratio. It is, therefore, essential to encourage selfless acts that help ease the financial burden of a given family. For example, a person can volunteer to fully sponsor the education of individual members of a given family hence reducing the financial burden in that given family.

Altruism encourages unity in society. Usually, people are brought together by a common goal. People can form charity groups and organizations to help vulnerable groups in society. Members of the community come together to give their donations. The contributions are later distributed to the needy in society. This, in return, aids in a peaceful co-existence between the rich and the poor. Usually, there exists a gap between various social classes; for example, the rich the poor. The gap is a result of the economic differences between the two types of people. The notion that haves in the social care about the have nots encourage peaceful co-existence between the two groups.

Altruism fosters prosperity in the community. If members of the community are all considerate about the well-being of each other, then society can succeed and thrive as a whole. Acts of altruism reduce selfishness among people who thrive in oppression the poor for their gain. When selfish desires drive some people, they oppress the poor hindering success and prosperity in society. A community that lacks acts altruism does not develop, and that is why it is vital to encourage selfless giving for the benefit of the whole community. For example, people can come together and initiate a water project in a society that has no constant water supply. The water can be used for various projects like irrigations, thus resulting in prosperity in the community.

Altruism reduces corruption in society, which is a significant contributor to increasing poverty in many countries. A country governed by corrupt leaders subjects the citizens into debt and in return, lead to slow development growth in the society. Acts of altruism help pinpoint the effects of corruption and the suffering of the less fortunate like lack in medical supplies and food. Corrupt people are only concerned about their well being. Still, when a culture of generous acts is introduced, they will shy away from their actions and in return, help alleviate poverty.

Helping the needy in the community encourages innovation. Innovations come as a result of trying to solve existing problems in the society. Individuals or groups of people come up with strategies that they deem fit to reduce poverty in the nation. For example, a community can be facing the challenge of food and water scarcity that will necessitate intervention strategies to deal with the problem. A plan can be devised for the community to plant drought-resistant crops for a constant supply of food, thus reducing the number of deaths caused by the effects of drought or famine. Altruist develops these innovation and intervention strategies that will benefit the community and not themselves.

In conclusion, altruism plays a significant role in poverty eradication in the community. Altruist does not seek their happiness but is more concerned with the well being of other people. They do not find any selfish gains from other people or the acts of charity that they perform in the community. Benefits associated with acts of altruism are a reduction of corruption, encourages innovation, fosters prosperity in the community, reduces dependency ratio, fosters unity in the society, and supports critical charitable donations. It is, therefore, essential to encourage the act of altruism in the community because these acts of selflessness can be very beneficial to the community.