
To clear things up from the get-go, this is not meant to be derogatory or judgmental to people of low or no means.
This is a topic of “generalizations”, and not about pointing my finger at anyone, and calling them “poor”.
In my mind EVERYONE has HUGE inherent personal potential.
Having said that, I have lived for almost 2 decades in a developing country (Indonesia), and travelled to over 50 countries around the world (including most of Asia, Africa, the Middle East and South America), where I have observed – first hand – poverty.
I am also a fan of the work of Margatte Wade an entrepreneur born in Senegal, who wrote an excellent book – ‘The Heart of a Cheetah‘ – and is very clear about why there is so much poverty in Africa. She believes the way out of poverty for many Africans, is free markets and economic freedom (i.e. ease of creating and doing business), to unlock the vast amount of entrepreneurial talent bubbling away throughout Africa.