I agree that problems like poverty, ignorance and oppression greatly undermine a society and can virtually destroy a nation’s social fabric. Although some nations are seriously combating these problems, there are others which do not seem to make any progress at all. How can these problems undermine our society?
Poverty can cause social unrest. It is especially so when the rich-poor divide is very huge. The poor envy the rich and resent their own predicament. In spite of their hard work to make an honest living, it is impossible for the poor to overcome poverty due to the corruption and inefficiency of the government, or worse, the exploitation of the rich. Hence, most people will seek radical change as a way to improve their lives and will resort to riots to do so. One very clear and good example comes from our southerly neighbour, Indonesia. Due to the corruption, cronyism, inefficiency and oppression of the Suharto regime, further exacerbated by the 1997 financial crisis and sky-high unemployment rates, university students started protesting against the government. Troops were called in but soon, pent-up feelings over decades of living in poverty and misrule led the people to riot. Many lives and property were lost and crimes against humanity were committed.
Poverty is also a harbinger of even more problems like prostitution and drug dealing. As poor rural workers move to the city to look for jobs and use it as a way to escape poverty, there is even more pressure on the city to allocate resources such as housing and other social amenities for these people. In many cities, shantytowns, ghettos and slums have mushroomed and unemployed and disillusioned people engage in drug-dealing, shoot-outs with law enforcement agencies and also prostitution. In Rio de Janeiro, the favelas, where the poor live, are well known crime havens. The police patrolling the area have to be fully armed in Kevlar vests and carry semi-automatic rifles. Gunshots are also frequently heard...