Is Poverty Genetic?

[Michael Grove]

 was the title of a recent episode of  Through the Wormhole

 Are the wealthy just born in the right place at the right time?

 Are the poor victims of a system designed to keep them down?

 Or do physics and biology determine who is rich and who is poor?

Throughout history, distribution of wealth is governed by hidden forces: DNA, environmental stress, patterns of human migration and even the laws of thermodynamics! Nature seems to demand winners and losers in life. But does this mean greed is king, and the rich can take what they want? OR is cooperation – between microorganisms, monkeys, and humans – more essential to survival of a species?

"When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men living together in society - they create for themselves, in the course of time, a legal system that authorises it and a moral code that glorifies it " Frederick Bostiak

 

As Debashis Chowdhury has proposed in his S2 Model Paper ... 

"Throughout much of history, mankind has lived primarily in the Q1 and Q2 segments, dividing humanity into the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’. Our fortresses took the form of city states and even nation states with significant barriers to entry. This is the story of the rich, who seek to protect themselves and their wealth; and the powerful, who seek to plunder and bolster their own wealth. The rise and fall of civilizations are based on this basic idea, and history has gone through many repetitions of the same theme. Yet, this is only half of the human story. Our true potential starts when we willingly decide to bridge the gap at the ‘bottom of our heart’ and enter the third segment (Q3)." 

Morgan Freeman's on-point concluding summary of ALL of this was extremely poignant and offered the raison d'être for ACTION ...

"Charles Darwin saw life on earth as a bitter struggle for survival - that seems like carte blanche for the rich to take what they want - GREED is KING - but our understanding of evolution is evolving - cooperation and community may be just as essential to our survival as selfishness - down at the level of microbes we see altruism and self-sacrifice for the good of the community."

A Selfless Defence against Selfish Predators - in fact

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