The Importance Of Poverty In Society

In a perfect society, all people would be treated with the same amount of equality. Unfortunately, this is not the case. The world that we live in today is tremendously unequal between the wealthy, the poor and really, everything in between. According to William Hogwarth, the class of poor people is extremely large in comparison to those who would be considered “well-to-do” (Hogwarth 548). This constantly growing epidemic has been an issue for centuries. In the past, poverty has been something that has been hard to illuminate due to lack of technology; now, it is difficult, still, to illuminate because of the continuous increase in population. In fact, today, there are 7.3 billion people and around 80% of these people are considered poor and need financial help in someway (Current 1) (Poverty 1).

Every person should be treated equally because, as philosophers have said for years, we are all humans and all deserve the same amount of respect.

The indigence that results from the amount of poor has created a stereotype, one that may be offensive and considered ruthless. This issue is especially prominent in the 18th century, particularly in 1751, when the Gin Act was passed in London, England (The Wealth). Purchasing alcohol in general was limited; one was limited to purchasing only extremely cheap gin. At this time poverty has taken a toll on the population, and some would even choose the alcohol over food. William Hogwarth dramatizes in his piece, Gin Lane (see figure 1), showing how the horrific poverty and deprivation was caused by the sales of gin (Austin 548). Hogwarth “understood that the root of the problem was poverty and that gin had become popular among the poor because it offered a false solution-and, in the process, exacerbated-this very real problem” (Austin 548). To this class of poor people, the use of cheep drugs and alcohol was a quick-fix to their otherwise miserable lives. Getting drunk