Political Crossfire Forums

I think that the most important thing when it comes to income in a nation is to ensure that everyone has a legit opportunity to improve their standing. You'll always have rich and poor citizens, but IMO the poorer in society will be less likely to harbor ill will or thoughts of rebellion if they feel they have a real chance at becoming more successful at some point in their lives. It is when they get stuck in a never-ending cycle of poverty that resentment for those more fortunate can rise.

China and Singapore dont have democracies yet their economies are pretty robust, same thing with Italy and Germany prior to WW2 so democracy isnt a requirement to a country's economic success.

Democracy thrives in rich countries because the populace has the free time to demand it. When you are struggling to eat or to get out of a slum, democracy as a political idea is very low on the list of priorities.

Agree with Saz. Having met a lot of poor in numerous 3rd world countries they are usually more concerned with basic necessities over such trivial stuff like freedom of the press and fair elections. In my view its the middle class that usually spurs revolutions (Castro, Che, et al weren't poor).