a question
Let's say that a child is born into extreme poverty. Who is to blame. be held accountable for this child being born into such terrible living conditions?
A. Society
B. The parents
C. A little of both
D. Other
I'm curious to hear your responses, because I just recently had an interesting/frustrating conversation about this very topic.
Comments
In so many societies, the most valuable thing in the world is a child. Blame has little to do with it and rarely changes the situation. Childbearing is profound (in the sense that it is ingrained in every culture). It is life continuing. Who was to "blame" when babies were born in Gulags? I guess walls of stone are not a lot different than walls of money. They can be overcome. Success stories are measured by obstacles that have been overcome. How do we know that that very child can't grow to become a great leader. Why waste time finding and laying blame? Rather we could use our energy effecting change.
E. No one is to blame.
When a child is born, It's a fresh start; both for that child and its parents. There is no one or nothing to blame. It is human nature to strive to make things better for oneself. If the parents were to "just" have the baby and not try their best to improve their living conditions, then they are to blame. They should not have procreated in the first place. If the parents tried their best and provided their child with love, guidance, morals, food, clothing, etc; and the child still did not amount to anything, then it is the child's fault. We make decisions howsoever small and insignificant that changes our lives and those of others who come in contact with us.
This is ofcourse considering that there are no medical or health conditions that inhibits the individual from achieving his true potential. ha ha
I'm assuming that by extreme poverty, we're talking like third-world, middle of drought ridden Africa poverty. The poverty in itself may be caused by society, but the birth of the child into that poverty is the parents responsibility. Society should never be held accountable for anything... the individual is what composes society, therefore it all comes down to what the individual does.
The child has a chance, all be it a small one, to overcome nature and nurture and become enlightened, to exist outside it's circumstance, and to defy the odds.
Our free will is constrained by nature and nurture. Our ability to nurture is constrained by nature and our free will. Our nature is defined by the circumstance of our predecessors.
So we start with a clean slate, a chance to defy nature and nurture, a chance to exercise our free will, but how many of us will be successful?
If, however, the parents have decided to have a baby despite their poverty, and they have ample opportunities to escape their situation but choose not to do so, then they have to accept some responsibility for the situation. However, if the parents cannot elevate themselves out of poverty due to the structure of the society then society is still responsible for the baby's circumstances.
I'd argue that there are many more instances where it is society's responsibility to address at child poverty rather than it being solely the responsibility of the parents.
As an immigrant, I can definitely say that America is the land of opportunity. Compared to the third-world countries, it is a whole lot easier for hard working people to achieve their goals in life. For example, it is relatively easier to buy a house, car and other amenities that make life comfortable. In other words, it is very easy to satisfy one's basic needs in America; which then enables people to focus on other important aspects of their lives such as building a career, business or family, OR responding to posts/questions like these (if you asked this question in another part of the world, you'd probably get laughed at... and then someone would give you a dope slap)
In a third world country, it is typical to find too many people and too few resources. That brings about hoarding, grabbing and general corruption. The root cause of corruption, in my opinion, is politics and politicians. It is they who shape the country and its society.