Freedom Of Choice : South Africa

South Africa is a country with very diverse social classes. As you can see in this graph the middle class and upper middle class have increased in percentage of population over the years. This shows that south Africa's poverty rates are dropping and more people are living a good life

Nelson Mandela, a revolutionary, advocated diligently for human rights and emphasized, “Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings” (Guy-Allen). He believed that poverty can be ended with humanity’s help. Poverty has been an issue for a long time, and people are going farther below the poverty line daily. There are many recent articles and conferences that discuss the causes and solutions to poverty overall. Some feel as if society is not doing enough for people in this position. Others view it as a situation that someone can get themselves out of with no extra help. But, there is a group that poverty strikes the hardest. The effects that poverty has on children is the worst. They cannot help themselves because they lack the power to do so. Therefore, it is the government’s job to make sure they are not being left behind. If they are not brought out of this, generational poverty will continue and increase the poverty rate. There should be more money put towards programs that directly aid to children in poverty because their position is holding them back from being successful.

As the anti-apartheid struggle ramped up in South Africa in the 1980s, the Kagiso Trust was formed as a NGO to support the struggle against apartheid and to distribute funds from the European Union and other donors. This was to provide the uplifting and empowerment of disadvantaged communities in South Africa through various development initiatives. At this stage, the core focus of the Kagiso Trust was on “building partnerships and collaborations to strengthen the implementation capacity of people and organisations in development”[1]. Following South Africa’s transition into democracy in 1994, the Kagiso Trust refocused its goals and efforts on education [1], which is considered a critical component in the eradication of inequality.

The South African Apartheid, instituted in 1948 by the country’s Afrikaner National Party, was legalized segregation on the basis of race, and is a system comparable to the segregation of African Americans in the United States. Non-whites - including blacks, Indians, and people of color in general- were prohibited from engaging in any activities specific to whites and prohibited from engaging in interracial marriages, receiving higher education, and obtaining certain jobs. The National Party’s classification of “race” was loosely based on physical appearance and lineage. White individuals were superficially defined as being “obviously white'' on the basis of their “habits, education and speech as well as deportment and demeanor”; an

Poverty is an issue that has affected society since civilization was first created. Even with a globalized economy and economic opportunity prevalent nearly everywhere, there is still a vast majority of people who live in financial strain. According to recent information obtained by the World Bank, “10.7% of the world’s population live on less than US $1.90 a day”(World Bank 2013). In the United States considered the wealthiest nation on Earth, the poverty rate is 12.7% which is 40.6 million people(US Census Bureau 2016). Though some people are in poverty because of their own choices, poverty is a result of structural institutional practices in place.

We live in a world where technology is advanced and it has solved many of our problems in the past, but an issue that has not been solved is poverty. Poverty is being extremely poor to the point where one cannot afford the daily necessities to survive, like food and shelter. Amongst the many problems we face today such as, war and climate change, poverty is a significant problem we have yet to solve. Poverty cannot be solved in a day nor in a year, in fact it might never be completely solved. Taking the right steps to significantly reduce poverty such as, becoming strict on those who apply for government assistance, donating leftover food for those in need and funding more resources into programs for rehabilitation may help decrease poverty.

One of the points absent from Singers argument is by helping to prevent poverty in the world may in some way, lead to greater suffering in the future; so we ought to adopt a policy to manage the use of resources we will need in the future. Singer’s conclusions are also supported by the ideas that help to form the rational of a utilitarian "to change our public ethics so that... giving something significant to those in extreme poverty becomes an elementary part of what it is to live an ethical life" while such ideas may be ethical they may not belong to everyone (Taylor,

Peter Singer approaches the issue of world poverty from a utilitarian perspective. In his work Rich and Poor, he argues that if something is bad, and we have power to prevent it from happening without sacrificing anything of comparable moral significance, then we ought to take actions to prevent the bad thing from happening.

One of the leading cause of why poverty has become such a worldwide threat is because of the economic crises going on. Only eight of the world’s richest people own the same wealth as 50% of the poorest people. People living in poverty don’t have stable homes, clean water, money, and at times only an education up to grade school (if they are lucky). On top of this, “…Tax avoidance costs poor countries more than $100 billion annually.”(Eight Men Own More than 3.6 billion people do: our economics is broken, Golding). People who are stripped of everything should not be going through an unfair economical state instead, to help reduce poverty rates in developing regions governments should create plans to provide finical aid. More plans such as the Census Bureau’s Supplemental Poverty Measure (non-cash benefits and taxes free) should be created. Plans like this will provide families living under poverty with the opportunity to have access to healthcare, food stamps or food supplies, and financial aid. This plans can give people a change in their lives of 360

Freedom House: Freedom House mainly focuses on two aspects; political rights and civil liberties. Until 1993 this organization categories the South Africa as partially free, probably because some citizens enjoyed a fully democracy whereas others were excluded by law. This changed in 1993 after the abolition of the apartheid, since then the country has been considered as free.

Ending world poverty is not an easy task. Many have tried to end this global problem with the notion that there is enough for the whole world. However, some regions have failed to succeed in the trial to end deprivation. In spite of the failure to end poverty, people like Jeffrey Sachs continue to have the optimism to demolish poverty. Class assignments reading and discussions have enabled the inspiration to acquire policies that could stop the cyclical development of poverty. These policies include the improvement and affordability of primary education in the developing region of sub- Saharan Africa. The prevention and cures of treatable diseases. As well as, the elimination on the food crisis in sub-Saharan Africa. The inspired

Utilitarians can argue that democracy and the basic political liberties, freedom of speech, the press, assembly of worship, were essential to the happiness of rational end choosers, for without them they would be prevented from effectively pursuing their own conception of a good and satisfying life. Also they argued that some degree of economic prosperity, wealth, was indispensable to having a realistic chance of living such a life, of realizing one's ends. So, according to Utilitarianism, the just society should be so organized in its institutions, its government, its laws, and its economy, that as many people as possible shall have the means and opportunity to achieve their chosen conception of a desirable life. To reform the institutions of one's society toward this goal, in the utilitarian view, is to pursue greater justice even if everyone isn’t totally happy with the decision.

Many of the contemporary issues in South Africa can easily be associated with the apartheid laws which devastated the country. The people of South Africa struggle day by day to reverse “the most cruel, yet well-crafted,” horrific tactic “of social engineering.” The concept behind apartheid emerged in 1948 when the nationalist party took over government, and the all-white government enforced “racial segregation under a system of legislation” . The central issues stem from 50 years of apartheid include poverty, income inequality, land ownership rates and many other long term affects that still plague the brunt of the South African population while the small white minority still enjoy much of the wealth, most of the land and opportunities

Poverty is a social problem that affects everyone on an economic, political and social level. The problem of human suffering is one that we must combat strategically on many levels. According to the United Nations, “in 2015 more than one billion people around the world live in a state of poverty, lacking the basic goods food, clothing, and shelter that humans need to survive” (“Poverty”). There are a great number of areas that keep individuals poor, such as lack of resources, inadequate income, lack of education, language barriers and the high cost of child care. Being able to work and provide basic necessities is our basic human right and we should not be deprived of these basic human rights that individuals need in order to live satisfying lives. The government has the responsibility of helping individuals in need with the economic assistance to feed, clothe, house, educate, provide health care and decent wages for every individual. They should ensure that individuals have access to resources that will help them build a better future. There are several ways that we can work together to strategically find solutions to end inequality among the poor individuals in our society.

Poverty is a major menace to humanity existence in recent times majorly in the third world countries; it is one of the greatest threats to stability and peace more than other tussles like terrorism. The Sustainable Development Goal of the United Nations to eradicate poverty everywhere in all its form and ensure quality education by 2030 shows the global commitment to ensure a higher standard of living for mankind.