The Elimination of Poverty Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Elimination of Poverty - Research Paper Example Counterfactuals allow us to enter a universe of possibility: one where we cannot be in the normal state of affairs but only in a kind of imaginary state of examination. Having said this, it should be clear that counterfactual analysis has little to do with reality or practical application. The conclusions reached here about what if can say nothing to inform public policy that deals with the here and now. In fact, precisely because the antecedent in this case cannot be true (as was said previously), it might be the case that these considerations cannot have any practical use beyond the useful practice of logical conjecture. What if poverty were eliminated? Such a question presupposes that we know what poverty is, beyond the concepts that we use in day-to-day life. However, what we find with these common concepts is that they are often faulty and not representative of the actual state of affairs. For instance, while we might think of justice as fairness, this might mean that justice is the property of abiding by rules. The rules themselves could in fact be unjust themselves. The concept of poverty, like justice, bears hidden connotations that must be sheared off before continuing. There are actually two components of the concept of poverty, one of which has to do with economics and the other which has to do with personal properties. These two facets of poverty readily interact with one another and often reinforce one another. The elimination of one kind of poverty, contrary to popular belief, will not lead automatically or ensure the elimination of the other, which perpetuates the problem and has the po tential to move us into committing evil acts. The first facet of poverty is that of virtue. While the word â€Å"virtue† might sound overly philosophical, it is merely a matter of personal excellence. A virtue is a personality trait that serves as a means to a greater end. For instance, the virtue of a