Why the west needs 3rd world poverty

You could be forgiven for making the mistake that most developed western countries are trying to end global poverty; this simply isn't the case. If you think for a moment about the plethora of "famous" people whom have asked the "middle" and "lower" classes to folk over some money to help people in 3rd world countries you'll understand that with less than a 1/3 of each of said "famous" peoples combined incomes world poverty could end over night. Likewise "charity" organisations like world vision ask us to pay money every month to "support a child" in a 3rd world country. And yes of the $30 or so that we give without thinking less than a DOLLAR actually reaches the child it's supposedly for.

These are systems designed to make the average person living in a western society feel as though we're doing something to fix poverty, without actually ever doing anything constructive to fix the problem. It stops consumers from feeling so guilty about the abhorrent conditions the people whom make their goods live and work in. Sure you can point to programs digging wells for fresh water in some communities and the like, but these programs are slow, intended to be so and targeted towards future workforces.

Next time you buy clothes, stationary, sheets, towels or many other CHEAP consumer goods check out were the product is made. China, Taiwan (which is technically part of China), India and Africa these are the names you're likely to see. You're also likely to have noticed the price of consumer goods made in China have gone up slightly over the last 18 months; there is a very good reason for that and why China made goods will continue to rise in cost. Recently the mood of the workforce in China has changed, they're starting to demand better pay, more rights and so forth. With these demands comes a higher cost of manufacture which, long story short translates into a higher consumer price.

It's for this reason when you compare the same goods manufactured in a western country with those of China, India or Africa the product manufactured in a western country is always at least double the price. The consumer lifestyle you enjoy was built on the suffering and poverty of others, and requires that to continue in order to keep prices low. As the Chinese workforce continue to demand better working conditions we'll see a shift to more products being made in India and Africa were such demands don't exist...yet!

Without these impoverished nations and desperate people can you imagine how insane the cost of living would be? Really have a think about all the products you buy which are made in these countries and owe their cost to the near slave labour used during manufacture. Now double the price you paid for those items, add them all together and you're getting close to understanding how much higher your cost of living would be without the 3rd world.