Curing Hunger

I heard again recently the all-too-familiar proclamation that “…we have the power to end world hunger…”, the implication that we’re just to mean and self-serving to Do The Right Thing left hanging in it’s wake (for a very few, I suppose that’s true)...

So I thought about the complex issues associated with hunger again, and here’s the solution. Well, first, there’s the little problem with the simple solution…

The simple solution goes like this: give everyone the basic necessities of food – oh, and throw in shelter and… healthcare too. Do this by Robinhood-istic means; leveling off the personal and corporate economic peaks and using that monetary soil to fill in the valleys of poverty. Sounds lovely.

Here’s the key issue with the simple solution: motivations. You always must consider motivation when dealing with humans, it’s like making water flow the way you wish to direct it – a subtle tilt causes a pooling, or a rushing erosion where you might least expect.

So let us consider motivation’s impact on the simple solution. Let’s ask why someone would keep ‘excess’ wealth when there are hungry people. For that matter, let’s ask why some perfectly healthy people fall so far in poverty as to come to the point of wondering where their next meal might come from. (Granted that there are a number of folks who are not capable of providing for themselves – to which there is the counter point of many social mechanisms to provide for such folks existent today.)

People are motivated to accumulate wealth in excess of their basic needs because of a desire for social standing above their peers, for security for their future and their family’s future, and in some extraordinary cases, because it’s what they are good at and enjoy (Warren Buffet is a prime example).

People fall into poverty due to some handicap (physical, mental or social) which prevents them from fully participating in active economic production. I include even what most would call ‘lazy slobs’ and ‘social misfits’ as handicapped in this definition.

Those two dichotomous forces are the prime movers in an un-repaired view of society. But think on how things change should you don your hood and bow to take from the rich and give to the poor – via government and law.

First, the motivation for productivity evaporates… Why struggle to gain that which is taken from you? Sure, there’re degrees of shading to how much is taken/retained, but the root effect is still there – productivity slackens. Second, the motivation to escape poverty through increased productivity vanishes – by degrees, as with wealth accumulation.

The water flows down hill. More folks fill the ‘welfare roles’ and the production of worth grinds to a halt. That is, until the top-heavy system collapses.

Which means there’s not and easy fix, right? WRONG!! Read on, and keep the idea of motivation to the fore…

Is there a way to feed/house/care for everyone and yet have a healthy and competitive economy? Yes, I believe there is… First, let’s establish a set of motivations for both increasing productivity and escaping total social dependency – provide food, basic shelter, and healthcare to all – but exclude any form of entertainment from this dole.

That is, no TV, no music, no sports, no arts will be provided gratis – those things must be earned. That means no club visits, no parties unless you worked for it.

Great motivation, eh?

(Ah, if it were only so easy… like water, humans will get around any attempt to keep them on the straight and narrow path. In this case, consider the idea of unsanctioned forms of entertainment - which would rapidly become the ONLY forms).

I’ll keep working on it…