The Haves and Have Nots
Explore the concept of poverty blindness, a critical issue affecting policymakers and social researchers. This essay delves into the importance of actively listening to, learning from, and amplifying the voices of those experiencing different forms of impoverishment to drive effective social progress. Understand how poverty blindness perpetuates and the impact it has on various groups and contexts."
Recently, in my regular reading, I encountered the concept of poverty blindness: a kind of inability to perceive, comprehend, or acknowledge the realities of poverty. This can be a state that affects anyone, but is more adverse when it affects policymakers, development specialists, social researchers, and to a large extent, innovators.
Much of social progress today hinges on our ability to listen, learn from, and amplify the voices and perspectives of individuals experiencing various forms of impoverishment. The proponents of "poverty blindness" argue in their abstract that povery blindness is not a lack of awareness of poverty itself, but rather a lack of conscious consideration of the impact and experiences of impoverished people/multidimensional poverty. By only looking at poverty through an income lens and neglecting other aspects such as powerlessness, vulnerability, social exclusion, or human rights violations, we happily perpetuate poverty blindness.
Even the general tendency to prescribe one-size-fits-all solutions that don't consider the unique needs and realities of different groups or contexts reeks of poverty blindness. Let's examine how poverty blindness manifests for those who have and have not in our society today.
Income poverty
In Kenya, significant salary disparities persist, creating a sharp contrast between high earners and a limited middle-income group. Meanwhile, the majority of the population falls into lower income brackets. Income inequality spans across generations, dividing people into clear ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots.’ While some struggle to meet daily needs, others enjoy abundant resources and wealth. The burden of financial stress weighs heavily on our minds, families, and overall well-being in a culture where survival often depends on paying bills.
As the national and international debt continues to grow, concerns about an impending "debt trap" impossible to escape from have been widely expressed. This growing global financial burden now exceeds $300 trillion, raising pressing questions about its sustainability and implications for future generations. To cancel it out, the Earth’s population would have to work for nothing for three years.
Mark Koyama writes in How the world became rich that most people who lived prior to the 20th century lived in conditions very similar to those of the very poorest in the world today. The average person globally today uses 13 times more goods and services (50 times more in developed countries like the US) than the average person did then. One can only wonder what the average human needs might be 100 years from now.
Floods and fires have pushed people from their homes across the globe in recent years. Yet their impact is most profound for communities with limited social safety nets, and those living under insecure and impoverished states that cannot provide adequate disaster relief or support their people to settle elsewhere. During the 2024 floods in Kenya, affected households were compelled to evacuate their homes and seek refuge in higher ground. A feat many could not afford to do, exposing the inequalities faced in coping with climate-change induced disasters. In the coming years, many will carry the indelible mark of a climate refugee.
Addressing climate change challenges is a catch-22 for many countries. While poorer communities generally have lower ecological footprints, efforts to improve their living conditions can inadvertently make environmental impacts worse through "ecological upgrading."
Research conducted in Kenya, as a case study for countries of a similar ilk, suggests that Kenya is on a positive trend in its environmental Kuznets curve. Intimating that as Kenya's economic growth advances, ecological impacts continue to show signs of improvement. This might surprise many, considering that over 80% of the global population resides in nations operating with ecological deficits - consuming more resources than their ecosystems can replenish.
Access to sufficient credit plays a crucial role in our ability to navigate through challenging financial months. As spending habits continue to evolve, an increasing number of products catering to those with immediate cash needs have emerged in the market. Manufacturers have also widely adopted shrinkflation strategies to counteract unexpected inflation. The middle class is not merely shrinking; it is gradually vanishing. And so are income disparities in Kenya.
In Africa, being part of the middle class differs from that in advanced economies, where one's income may still be below the UK minimum wage but sufficient for basic necessities like an indoor toilet and a generator during frequent power outages. Individuals within this social stratum often exhibit unpredictable "trading up and down" consumption patterns, making their behavior difficult to anticipate, contributing to the persistence of poverty blindness.
Social poverty
Unlike monetary poverty, which directly concerns financial resources, social poverty encompasses a broader array of deprivations that manifest in various forms such as limited access to quality healthcare, transport, housing, employment opportunities, etc.
Consider, for instance, the far-reaching consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on education and socioeconomic stability, resulting in worsening learning gaps for many children worldwide. Post-pandemic data in Sub-saharan Africa shows that nearly 90% of 10-year-olds struggle to read or comprehend a basic paragraph, contrasting starkly with the educational achievements of approximately 90% of their age peers in higher-income countries who can.
In the 2010s, low international borrowing interest rates fueled excessive spending and investments that eventually proved unsustainable. As a result, many individuals experienced rapid social mobility, which reshaped their identities and access to resources. However, the social capital accumulated by these new classes has quickly eroded.
We often forget that African societies evolved to cater to social poverty. Developed societies, who evolved to cater more to monetary poverty, now face a growing loneliness crisis, with many experiencing feelings of isolation and exclusion despite possessing adequate financial resources. To make matters worse, increased reliance on social media has created an illusion of connectedness without genuinely satisfying the need for genuine bonding experiences.
Skills poverty
Many of us self-identify first with the skills we possess (i.e., what we do). Having a valuable skill distinguishes one from their peers. Much of the existential angst felt by modern workers can be attributed to a mismatch between the skills one possesses, their marketability, and the incentive structure for other similar skills. I am willing to wager that trends like quiet quitting are a direct result of this mismatch.
The Kenyan labour market has struggled for years with low job mobility. Majority of jobs demand that we have the required skills to do the job, and since most organizations no longer invest in training their workforce, unskilled (often poor) people continue to be subjugated.
Global skills arbitrage is currently at an all-time high, with a significant number of talented individuals immigrating in search of job opportunities abroad. Labour experts emphasize that skill arbitrage serves as a crucial economic tool to address global labor challenges. Yet, the brain drain persists, casting a shadow over genuine economic progress. Governments, pragmatic and resigned, find solace in the steady stream of remittances from their expatriate citizens. During the pandemic, many professions faced limitations in transitioning to online work setups, resulting in widespread unemployment. Now, as the dust settles, people are now prioritizing skill development to future-proof their careers. Traditional industries, once stalwarts, struggle attracting fresh talent.
Nir talks about the most important skill of the future as being indistractable. When it comes to distraction, social media plays a huge role, which captivates us with its endless scrolling and external trigggers. He emphasizes that without the ability to manage distractions, we cannot achieve the life we desire. It’s all about the small things such as fine-tuning our daily routines, adjusting key behaviors, and effectively managing distraction - critical skills that elude many.
Health poverty
Health is a critical dividing line between the haves and the have nots. The downstream effects of pandemics, the escalating influence of endocrine-disrupting chemicals, and metabolic issues represent the realities faced by billions of people everyday. Mental health continues to wrech havoc to a population that is increasingly relying on their brains for financial sustenance. In an unprecendented crisis, a large number of people now rely on medication for various mental health issues, further putting pressure on a health system that has not evolved to cater to these challenges.
Rising life expectancy today means that an increasing number of individuals can anticipate extended golden years; by 2050, 1.6 billion people will be aged 65 or older. Even in Kenya, the elderly population is growing rapidly, posing a challenge to ensure their additional years are both healthy and productive. Over half of them live in absolute poverty, making them the most economically vulnerable age group in the country. This demographic shift raises concerns related to health, insurance, income insecurity, gaps in social protection, Violence, Abuse, and Neglect (VAN), digital exclusion, property and inheritance anxieties, disability challenges, and ageism.
How our bodies work is invisible to us. Health systems are continuously evolving their understanding of human biology. I happily traffic in what Peter Attia calls Medicine 3.0. Rather than merely extending lifespan, Medicine 3.0 aims to enhance healthspan - improving both quality of life and longevity. However, emergent longevity practices that comprise of Medicine 3.0 are designed to favor those with the means and access, further widening the gap between the haves and have nots.
Voice poverty
Modern life is specifically designed to distract and deaden, and this is one of the reasons that many feel that their voices are not heard. People often feel powerless and confined, sensing a lack of control over crucial life choices. Instead, they yearn for empowerment—to have a voice and the ability to shape their life experiences.
Yes, free speech platforms like youtube and twitter bring different voices to the world, but some cautious observers caution about the extensive data collection on these ‘free’ platforms. While this is not to be denied, we should explore additional measures to create a more equitable world. We ought to shift our attention to ways we can safeguard ourselves from the harmful effects of algorithmic autocracy.
And just as easily, we can see how the media perpetuates this kind of poverty here.
Meaning poverty
The search for purpose and meaning in our lives has become increasingly challenging due to the decline of traditional sources of guidance such as religions and culture. We currently grapple with a “meaning crisis,” made worse by the rise of individuals who lack a pro-social outlook and are burdened by dark personality traits. The meaning crisis is something I personally think a lot about. In some way, perpetuated by Victor Frankl's (paraphrasing Nietzsche) "he who has a 'why' to live, can bear almost any 'how.'
We know that 1 to 2 per cent of individuals in the general population display extremely dark personality features – enough to meet the clinical threshold for a personality disorder – and about 10-20 per cent of individuals have moderately elevated levels. We know that even people with moderate levels of dark traits can wreak havoc: they are more likely to lie and cheat, show racist attitudes, and be violent towards others.
Within this group, many lack the inner peace and consistency necessary to shape their lives. Recognizing the importance of establishing fresh meaning-making processes, those who have discovered their life purpose (the meaning-rich) must guide others (have nots) by providing direction and stability. It is in such responsibility that we can exert greater influence and drive systemic change.
A special thanks goes to Nate Hagens for inspiring many of these thought-provoking ideas through his insightful podcast.