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Scarce resources are the primary cause of poverty.


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That's a view. I think that unequal, unbalanced, unfair, distribution and withholding, and waste, of scarce resources are the primary cause of poverty.

[/ QUOTE ]I'm not really sure we disagree. We can agree that if resources werent' scarce there would be no poverty? Maybe I make a correction, The enomourous amount of luck in the distribution of scarce resources is the primary cause of poverty?

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Are we really discussing if government vs no government is better in terms of poverty, or just current system vs AC system?

How about this angle: Humans are selfish by nature (not completely, but mostly). In that sense, an organized body with the right authority is needed to help distribute resources, reduce separation between classes, etc. Obviously not to the extreme (communism) but enough to give the poor decent conditions.

In that sense, don't we need the government? Yes, the government has a certain price in the form of administrative overhead, but isn't it better than the alternative?