Does Poverty = Crime & Revolution ?

"The mother of revolution and crime is poverty"(Aristotle) Do you agree?

The statement is defined as it is poverty that will leads to revolutions and crimes. But is it always true?

Poverty is a social problem that will occur in every country. Whether it is due to limited access to certain resources, overpopulation, natural disasters, government corruption or even social factors such as discrimination against certain race, poverty is always present. Take for example Singapore which is known to be a globalised and “first-world” country also has people trapped in the poverty cycle, only earning $600 per month.

Normally people who are trapped in poverty cycle are those who lack of education. Thus in this ever changing and competitive world where people need to constantly upgrade and equip themselves with the latest knowledge, these people feel so helpless, powerless or even miserable. “The rich become richer and the poor become poorer”, this is quite true to the majority of society.

Hence when pushed to a dead-end, people who are desperately in need of money to support their family or even sustain their life will resort to crimes and revolutions. Robbing, stealing, riots, etc. They will do everything that they believe can make their lives better and find the solution to such unfair treatment of society.Therefore, poverty is the mother of crime and revolution.

However, is it always the “poor” people who commit crimes and raise revolutions?

Hubert H. Humphrey, American 38th US Vice President once said, “History teaches us that the great revolutions aren't started by people who are utterly down and out, without hope and vision. They take place when people begin to live a little better - and when they see how much yet remains to be achieved.” I agree with his statement as in some cases, there are people who feel that the government is too corrupted and by revolting against the government they are helping the citizens and hoping to give the people a better future.

Sometimes it is man’s unlimited greed that leads to the desire of more luxurious life and eventually leads to the committing of crimes. It is not uncommon to hear reports of lawyers embezzling of funds or certain director of some big companies pocketing funds. A good example will be Mr T.T Durai, the former CEO of NKF.

To conclude, poverty is not the sole reason why crime and revolution occurs. There can be other reasons like personal greed and desires or even the ambitions one can have. Thus I agree with the statement to a small extent.