Poverty is natural in an isolated farm economy, period.
Look, I'm not saying that government creates prosperity, and saying
"poverty has no causes" isn't true in a pure sense, but I think it's
more accurate than viewing prosperity as the natural state and poverty
always caused by some barrier. There are conditions and processes which
produce prosperity; poverty is self-sustaining. Why did it take
centuries to rebuild Europe's economy after the fall of the Roman
Empire? It wasn't because centralized government was getting in the
way... it took work, long work, for Venice to build itself, stimulated
by Constantinople, and in turn to stimulate the other cities of Europe.
} >has a drought, but this is not the massive global poverty that cannot
} >be due to nature, since nature provides more than enough resources.
Not to reliably live past 40. Not to have lots and lots of children.
Not that simple agriculture is an improvement. Whatever; agricultural
poverty exists today, without recent cause. Poor regions are because
the processes of prosperity have not taken root, or have passed by, or
don't work. To blame government totally is simplistic.
Merry part,
-xx- Damien R. Sullivan X-) <*> http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~phoenix
"No bird soars too high, if he soars with his own wings."
-- William Blake, _The Marriage of Heaven and Hell_