Research Paper-Unbalanced Right in Society Causes the Problem of Poverty

Name: Iris

Professor: Mei-Ya Liang

Number: 991002014

Department: English

Course: Sophomore Composition

Date: January 5, 2012

Unbalanced Right in Society Causes the Problem of Poverty

     Power group as government or businessman who has the right to control economy resource and balance, sometimes causes different problems of poverty by exploiting workers or deciding unfair economy circulation rule. Workers can not retrieve what they deserved, and can just own the small proportion of the benefit that is come from their hard working. This phenomenon is ever where in our society, even that, it exists all over the world. To talk about the poverty, there are two concepts of it. The first one is the conventional statement of poverty that is people who are in the condition of shorting of fortune or basic living resource. The second one is the poverty that focuses on psychological. People keep pursuing power, space and fortune although their present economy is well enough to support their daily life and their amusement. This strong desire for money and right is called psychological poverty. The owner of Nobel peace prize in 2006 was the man who was called ‘‘the poor’s banker’’-Muhammad Yunus. He built the bank called Grameen Bank to help the poor by landing them money without any need of security or guarantor. I receive some of his information in a magazine and try to understand the problem he wants to solve. Use Yunus’ idea as a starting point, I want to observe the poverty problem comes from unbalance right in society, especially in the subject of economy.

     First, to talk about a condition that how power group control poor’s mind. To think about a question: Do the poor understand that they are living under power group’s exploit or control? To use the article ‘Psychology of Poverty: Why Poor People Buy Lottery Tickets’ as an example to explain the condition. It talks about a research which compares the action and desire for buying lottery tickets with income. It was interesting how the researchers differentiate between the rich and the poor. Researchers want the participants to decide whether they are rich or poverty by themselves. They influenced participants' perceptions of their relative wealth — or lack thereof — by having them complete a survey on their opinions of the city of Pittsburgh that included an item on annual income. The group made to feel poor was asked to provide its income on a scale that began at "less than $100,000" and went upward from there in $100,000 increments, ensuring that most respondents would be in the lowest income category. The group made to feel subjectively wealthier was asked to report income on a scale that began with "less than $10,000" and increased in $10,000 increments, leading most respondents to be in a middle or upper tier. After participants completed their survey, participants, who were recruited at Pittsburgh's Greyhound Bus terminal, were paid $5 for completing the survey and given the opportunity to buy as many as five scratch-off lottery tickets. The experimental group purchased an average of 1.27 lottery tickets, compared with 0.67 tickets bought by the members of the control group. Here the “cause” (experiment) and effect (people’s self- perception) let we know that difference between 'the rich' and 'the poor'? No, it was the way that the researcher controls participant's psychology. Participants didn’t know that their survey had been ‘designed’ and had already controlled their finally actions which would fit the researchers’ anticipation. Because participants knew nothing about the research, so they were under the unbalance information and right with researchers. Regarded participants innocent as the poor did not understand that they were exploited by others. And used researchers’ control and design toward the research to express the concept about power group control the economy rule like the price of product; and forces the poor to work or even live, as they wanted. The poor may not understand that they are controlled by the power groups because they do not have ability to analyze or receive the information and knowledge about the value of their hard working and what they should actually received. The power groups have already order the rule of how should economy perform, and also, have already order the poor what role they should play in this huge economy system- the cheap workers but devote the most labor. Here back to the question in the beginning: Do the poor understand that they are living under power group’s exploit or control? The answer may be No.

     To fellow the concept that the poor do not understand that they are living under power group’s control, here I use an example in the video of ‘‘Muhammad Yunus- Grameen Bank’’, Yunus described economical activities in a rural village. Women who made bamboo furniture had to take out usurious loans for buying bamboo, and to pay their profits to the moneylenders. The poor keep working hard and try to depart from poverty, however sometimes, it is not their fault to being poor; it means that the poor living style is not made by them. It is because the society system and vicious oppression from the power group as their boss or the businessmen that causes their terrible economy conditions. Besides, Yunus made an example by being a slave to explain how terrible the economy condition in Bangladesh. That woman was willing to accept this kind of deal to exchange for money; she was in force to do that because of the poverty that may cause her family’s starvation. However, when she was force to being a slave under this unfair condition and environment, she never tried to against it; that was because she never knew, maybe we can say that she was used to be exploited.

     Next, I will try to explain the relation in economy circulation between the power group, the rich and the poor. ‘They said it came from the heart of the earth, to test the heart of the man’. The first line in the movie trailer of Blood Diamond (Zwick, 2006) hints us how the fortune attracts human being, and the misery comes from scrambling for diamond. The rebel army forces black people to collect diamond in a river, however, after they successfully find rare diamonds in that muddy river, they could not keep the diamonds as their own. They have to hand them in, in addition, they would not have any chance to share any benefit from the diamond and could not get any reward. The black protagonist, Solomon, tried to own a rare pink diamond as his own secretly and decided to pretend that he didn’t find anything. However, the guarder was aware of his attempt and from then on; Solomon’s destiny was wholly changed. There are three leading characters in this movie. First one was Solomon, who wanted to use the diamond to support his family departing from the poverty and the life style as slaves. The second one was Danny, who was an illegal seller of diamond worked for government official, who regarded rare pink diamond as a great chance that could help him to become richer and depart from the unstable life style. The third one was a rebel army who needed that diamond for exchanging fortune to buy better weapons. For three different reasons and different standpoints, this diamond became a fatal attraction not only cause the death of innocent people during their fight, but also cause the death of rebel army’s conscience. In this movie, Solomon is a symbol of the poor, who tried to improve his life but was exploited by a power group. The rebel army was regarded as that power group which forced the poor to be bogged down in poverty. On top of that, Danny was regard as the rich who desire for fortune to compensate his greedy mind toward high stander in society and sumptuous life style. Danny’s present property was enough to support his life, but he still pursue for more. So this may be regarded as a motion to satisfy his psychological poverty.

Using the connection between Solomon, rebel army and Denny to discuss how society and the rich influence or maybe, cause the poor’s poverty. To express anguish toward the unfair society and army’s cruelty, Solomon said, ‘my family, my home, I could not lost everything.’ It is just like the voice from poor’s heart to fight against the cruel environment and society that bogged them down to the poverty. The rebel army’s exploitation was the social unfriendly environment toward the poor. The poor’s poverty was because they didn’t have the power to protect their right and dignity. Those who can get the power and the right of management will control the economy condition. That was the right’s unbalance and social sternly cool toward poor’s no ability to fight for their rights that cause the poor’s permanent poverty. Beside, the rich didn’t prevent that exploitation toward the poor because they also obtain rewards from this unfair condition, and these rewards could just compensate for their psychological poverty that always keep them to pursue more fortune and power.

     Beside the active exploitation, sometimes power groups’ misunderstand will also strengthen the low status’ being exploit. The misunderstand means that the power owner didn’t actually know the reality of the economy environment. They may just understand some unilateral conditions but apply it to all the familiar conditions. Their wrong judgment may influence the low status’ right by exploiting what they should own. Here I use news as an example to explain what I want to express. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). DPP recently promoted an advertisement which focuses on the price of Taiwanese fruits. In this advertisement, DPP told people that the price of banana was only NT$2 pre kilogram. However, after reporters investigated, the real price of banana was three times higher than that of DPP’s handbill. Banana famers emphasized that the price of NT$2 per kilogram was in June. After the government adopted price adjustment measures and long-term monitoring mechanisms to help farmers deal with a surplus production of bananas; the problem about banana’s low price had been solved temporarily. Price today in the market was at least NT$15 pre kilogram. Banana famers are very worried that people would be confused by this advertisement and therefore misunderstand the price of banana was that low. One of the banana famers told the reporter that DPP could not used the price of inferior bananas as the price of the high- grade ones. This misunderstanding might impact banana’s price, and hence, innocent banana famers.

     Power groups’ misunderstanding will influence the people in lower status. Farmers work so hard to cultivate fruit; however they could not decide the price by themselves. Famers know fruit the most. They cultivate each kind of products, plants by their own hands and can discriminate the quality of the fruit. They should have the right to decide the price of their labor, but actually, they are not getting what they deserve. On the other hands, middlemen as the power group decide the price of famers’ products. They buy farmers’ products at a low price in a large amount. The price may not be equal to the efforts and prime cost that the money famers used to buy the seeds and fertilizer. Famers became cheap slaves to help middlemen earn money by their hard working. In this news, the price that farmers sold to the middlemen was NT$6 per kilogram. However, the market price was NT$15 per kilogram. Although the government had try to raise the price, the famers still could not get profit from that ‘‘NT$15’’. Middlemen and the retail store got most of the benefits from the products; however, farmers’ diligence could not receive the reward they deserve. The impact of this erroneous information has taken its toll on the price of banana and hence, the farmers.

Unbalanced right between power group and the poor cause the problems of poverty. However, the reason that causes this condition is not only because the exploitation from power owners but the poor’s innocent toward their exploitation by others. The rich who could be the person to adjust this problem by expressing worse economy environment to the government; or help the poor to against the exploitation by striving more right for the poor. However, to be the person who also receive number of fortune in this unfair economy environment; seldom would them speak for the poor. The power groups and the rich the same, pursue the property to satisfy their psychological poverty the cause from huge desire for fortune, right and space. All of us will have a goal in our life, and also we cannot identify what kind of goal is better or what kind of life destination is worse. To find the value of the life is a way to decrease to psychological poverty, because that means our psychology can find the destination and get confidence from it. Human being is poor because of their psychological poverty, but also, they can rich their mind by trying to decrease their psychological poverty. Therefore, the poor become the victims of unbalanced right in the society, and also, the victims of psychological poverty.

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Work Cited

YouTube (February 5, 2000). Mhuammed Yuns- Grameen Bank. Retrieved November 17, 2011, from the World Wide Web: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPk2gRuIdj0

Russell Sage Foundation(July 24, 2008). Psychology of Poverty: Why Poor People Buy Lottery Ticket. Retrieved November 17, 2011, from the World Wide Web:

http://www.science20.com/news_releases/psychology_of_poverty_why_poor_people_buy_lottery_tickets

YouTube (August 14, 2009). Zwick, E (2006). Movie: Blood Diamond. Retrieved December 15, 2011, from the World Wide Web: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2uXlxNZCs4&feature=player_embedded

邱君萍 許文男(November 28, 2011). 綠文宣蕉價低三倍 蕉農被害慘. Retrieved December 15, 2011, from World Wilde Web:

     http://news.cts.com.tw/cts/politics/201111/201111280878948.html

Reflection2

In the conference, I talked about my problems in giving a title to my report. I first wanted to write my issue as discussing psychological poverty. However, my annotations deviated from it. To read my annotations again, I seemed to find out some connections between them. In annotation1, annotation3 and annotation4; all of them talked about poverty problem with power groups. In these three annotations, they pointed out some problems that caused poverty. For example, exploitation and the imbalance rights and power between the poor and the government or the power group like middleman and rebel army. I have to organize these three annotations with the issue about poverty and imbalance rights. However I could not find a good connection between my annotation2 with others. Professor asked me to read some comments from classmates. Cheryl gave me a comment as follow: ‘Here the “cause” (experiment) and effect (people’s self- perception) let we know that difference between 'the rich' and 'the poor'? No, it was the way that the researcher controls participant's psychology’. She here gave me a new point to think about the relationship between the cause and the effect. Research controlled participant’s mind and made them to feel poor. Because participants knew nothing about the research, if I regretted their innocent as the poor did not understand that they were exploit by others, and used researchers’ control and design toward the research to express the concept about power group control the rights and forces the poor to work or even live, as they wanted. By this way, maybe I can connect my four annotations in the same issue.

Revised Annotation4 Power group’s misunderstand will strengthen the low status’ being exploit

Source:邱君萍 許文男(2011/11/28) 綠文宣蕉價低三倍 蕉農被害慘.華視新聞網

Retrieved from:

http://news.cts.com.tw/cts/politics/201111/201111280878948.html

1.      Jim and Ruby gave me many helpful advices on word chose and helped me to correct my grammar mistakes. Jim suggested changing NT$6 per kilogram’ to ‘NTD$6 /KG’. However I read related news before on the Taipei Times, and they write the price by the way ‘NT$6 per kilogram’, so I decided to fellow their way to describe the price.

2.      I used the word like ‘some problems’ or ‘their expectancy’. Ruby suggested me to explain clearly about what did I actually means about ‘problems’ and ‘expectancy’. I had discussed more about what I wanted to express.

3.      In paragraph three, Jim suggested me to shorter the last eight line to ‘the impact of this erroneous information has taken its toll on the price of banana and hence, the farmer’. He thought that annotation should depend on why I chose this article as annotation. But I wanted to explain my opinion toward this annotation clearly, so I didn’t shorter my annotation.

4.      Jim gave me the information about writing the source information of news. I had tried to correct my mistake.

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Power group’s misunderstand will strengthen the low status’ being exploit

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). DPP recently promoted an advertisement which focuses on the price of Taiwanese fruits. In this advertisement, DPP told people that the price of banana was only NT$2 pre kilogram. However, after reporters investigated, the real price of banana was three times higher than that of DPP’s handbill. Banana famers emphasized that the price of NT$2 per kilogram was in June. After the government adopted price adjustment measures and long-term monitoring mechanisms to help farmers deal with a surplus production of bananas; the problem about banana’s low price had been solved temporarily. Price today in the market was at least NT$15 pre kilogram. Banana famers are very worried that people would be confused by this advertisement and therefore misunderstand the price of banana was that low. One of the banana famers told the reporter that DPP could not used the price of inferior bananas as the price of the high- grade ones. This misunderstanding might impact banana’s price, and hence, innocent banana famers.

Power groups’ misunderstanding will influence the people in lower status. Farmers work so hard to cultivate fruit; however they could not decide the price by themselves. Famer knows fruit the most. They cultivate each kind of products, plants by their own hand and can discriminate the standard of the fruit. They should be the person who has the right to decide the price of their labor, but actually, they are not getting what they deserve. On the other hands, middlemen as power group decide the price of famers’ products. They buy farmers’ products at low price in large amount, the price may not equal to the efforts and prime cost that famers put in to their crops. Famers became cheap slaves to help middlemen earned money by their hard working.

In this news, the price that farmers sold to the middlemen was NT$6 per kilogram. However, the market price was NT$15 per kilogram. Although the government had try to raise the price, the famers still could not get profit from that ‘‘NT$15’’. Middlemen and the retail store got most of the benefits from the products; however, farmers’ diligence could not receive the reward they deserve. DPP here misunderstood the price of banana and thus pronounced a wrong advertisement. DPP is as power group who could influence people’s cognition toward price or different information; delivered the wrong information to people that may indirectly help middlemen to exploit the banana famers. People receive the low price in their knowledge and may want to buy the banana at that low price. If middlemen try to satisfy costumer’s expectancy, they must lower their prime cost by buying banana from famers in lower price. This exploit force the famers to sells their products in bad price and cannot earn enough money to prepare for their next cultivation. Power group’s exploit and misunderstand will finally cause the innocent farmers to be the victims.

Revise Annotation3 Exploitation from power groups cause the poverty condition for the poor

Source: Movie: Blood diamond (2006) Directed by Edward Zwick. Retrieved movie trailer from: Youtube. Uploaded by: FilmTrailersChannel (2009)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2uXlxNZCs4&feature=player_embedded

1.      Jim and Ruby gave me many advices on word choice and correct some mistake in grammar. I changed the word ‘army’ to ‘rebel army’ which could express the image more clearly. Besides, Jim suggested me to use the word ‘compensate’ to replace the word ‘fulfill’ when I discussed the psychological poverty. And I accepted his suggestion.

2.      Ruby suggested me to discuss the character of Denny more clearly so I had tried to describe more images about this character and what I wanted to express by this character. I thought that would help me a lot to explain what I wanted to tell the reader.

3.      In paragraph two, I used the word ‘fatal’ to describe attraction. Jim suggested me to change the word to ‘lethal’ or ‘deadly’. But I still wanted to use the word ‘fatal’ because I thought that attraction actually causes the death of innocence and also the death of rebel army’s conscience.

4.      Ruby suggested me to explain why I quoted the lines tells by Solomon in paragraph three, so I had discussed more about it.

5.      I gave a title to the annotation and wished this title can help me to express what I wanted to say in this annotation.

6.      Jim suggested me that ‘spiritual poverty’ can be better to pair was ‘material poverty’ than ‘psychological poverty’. I didn’t decide which one is better.

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‘They said it came from the heart of the earth, to test the heart of the man’. It was the first lines in this movie trailer and also, gave the audiences a concept about this movies’ issue-the misery comes from scrambling for diamond. As we can see in the movie, the rebel army forces black people to collect diamond in a river, however, after they successfully find rare diamonds in that muddy river, they could not keep the diamond as their fortune. They have to hand it in, in addition, they would not have any chance to share any benefit from the diamond and could not get any reward. The black protagonist, Solomon, tried to own this diamond as his fortune secretly and decided to pretend that he didn’t find anything. However, the guarder was aware of his attempt and from then on; Solomon’s destiny was wholly changed.

There are three leading characters in this movie. First on was Solomon, who wanted to use the diamond to support his family departing from the poverty and the life style as slaves. The second was Danny, who was an illegal seller of diamond worked for government official, who regarded rare pink diamond as a great chance that could help him to become rich and depart from the unstable life style. The third one was rebel army who needed that diamond for exchanging fortune to buy better weapons. For three different reasons and different standpoints, this diamond became a fatal attraction not only cause the death of innocent people during their fight, but also cause the death of rebel army’s conscience. In this movie, Solomon as symbol of the poor, who tried to improve his life but exploited by power group. The rebel army was regarded as that power group which forced the poor to be bogged down in poverty. On top of that, Danny was regard as the rich who desire for fortune to compensate his psychological poverty.

Using the connection between Solomon, rebel army and Denny to discuss how society and the rich influence or maybe, cause the poor’s poverty. Solomon said lines to express anguish toward the unfair society and army’s cruelty. ‘My family, my home, I could not lost everything.’ It is just like the voice from poor’s heart to against cruel environment and society that bogged them down to the poverty. Rebel army’s exploitation was the society’s unfriendly environment toward the poor. The poor’s poverty was because they didn’t have power to protect their right and dignity. Who can get the power and the right of management will control the economy condition. That was the right’s unbalance and society’s sternly cool toward poor’s no ability to fight for their rights that cause the poor’s permanent poverty. Beside, the rich didn’t prevent that exploit toward poor was because they also obtain rewards from this unfair condition, and these rewards could just compensate their psychological poverty that always keep them to pursuit more fortune and power.

 

annotation4 DPP mistakes the price of banana in their handbills, banana farmers become the victim

Source:綠文宣蕉價低3倍 蕉農被害慘(2011/11/28) by 邱君萍 許文男報導
Retrieved by 華視新聞網 http://news.cts.com.tw/cts/politics/201111/201111280878948.html

This news talks about a mistake makes by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). DPP recently announced an advertisement which was focus on the price of Taiwan’s native fruit. In this advertisement, DPP told people that the price of banana was only NT$2 pre kilogram. However, after reporter’s investigated, the real price of banana was three times higher then DPP’s handbill had written. Banana famers emphasized that the price of NT$2 pre kilogram was the price in June. After government had adopted price adjustment measures and long-term monitoring mechanisms to help farmers deal with a surplus production of bananas; the problem about banana’s low price had temporary been solved. Today’s price in the market was at last NT$15 pre kilogram. They are very worried that the price of banana will be affected by this advertisement. One of the banana famers told the reporter that DPP could not used the price of inferior bananas as the selling price of the high- grade one. This misunderstanding might bring some problems to banana’s price, and finally, innocent banana famers would be the victim of this unreal advertisement.

     Power groups’ misunderstanding will cause the influence to the people in lower stander. Famers work so hard to cultivate fruit; however they could not decide the price by themselves. Famer is the person who knows fruit the most. They cultivate each kind of produces by their own hand and can discriminate the stander of the fruit. They should be the person who has right to decide the price of their painstaking care, but actually, they are just become the slave under the power group. Middlemen, as power group decide the price of famers’ products. They buy in famers product by low price in large amount, that price may not compare with the effort and prime cost that famers put in their cultivation. Famers became cheep slave to help middlemen earned money by their hard working.

In this news, the price that famer sell to the middlemen was NT$6 pre kilogram. However, the price sells to the consumer in the market was NT$15 pre kilogram. Although government had try to raise the price from NT$2 to NT$6 pre kilogram, famers still could not get benefit from that ‘‘NT$15’’. Middlemen and the retail store got most of the benefit from the product; however, the hardest character could not receive the reward they should receive. DPP here misunderstanding the price of banana and pronounce a wrong advertisement. DPP as another kind of power group and express the wrong information to people may help middlemen to exploit the banana famers. People receive the low price in their knowledge and will want to buy the banana by that low price. If middlemen try to satisfy costumer’s exception, they most lower their prime cost by buying banana from famers in bad price. This exploit force the famers to sells their products in bad price and can not earn enough money to prepare for their next cultivation. Power group’s exploit and misunderstand will finally cause the innocent farmers to be the victim.

DPP mistakes the price of banana in their handbills, banana farmers become the victim

廣告中說到香蕉的產地價格一台斤賣兩塊錢，真的是這樣嗎？華視記者實際的來到了香蕉產地高雄旗山，香蕉農抱怨說，民進黨文宣中寫兩塊錢，那只有在今年六月蕉價慘跌時的最差價錢，後來經過農糧署啟動農安機制，一個月後價錢立刻回穩，現在賣給批發商一台斤至少都有六塊錢。
　　打開催熟冷藏室，裡頭一籃籃塑膠籃子裡裝的都是一串串的香蕉，拿出一串來，黃色的皮平整光亮每條大小都剛剛好，民進黨的水果日曆中說，這樣的香蕉產地賣價一台斤只有兩塊錢，高雄旗山的蕉農張大哥說根本不可能，張大哥接著還說，拿像這樣外皮損傷或過熟、賣相不好的次級香蕉價格，講成是品質良好的價錢，簡直是害死蕉農。
　　今年的香蕉價格最低價是在六月份的時候，當時蕉農交給批發商一台斤確實只有兩三塊錢，後來農糧署緊急啟動農安機制，發動企業團體跟公家機關，用一台斤六塊的價格向蕉農購買，蕉價才總算回升穩定，到現在香蕉一台斤市價賣給消費者至少都有15塊起跳。
　　不過其實香蕉價格這幾年來跌得最慘的是在2006年時，因為蕉農交琣批發商價格慘跌，一台斤只剩下一塊錢，讓蕉農寧願把香蕉砍掉當肥料，只是當年的中央政府也只有幫忙推廣促銷香蕉，相較於今年，政府出錢出力讓蕉價回穩，蕉農們好不容易盼到好價格，沒想到現在卻又被貶低到兩三塊，讓他們真的又無奈又心酸，更擔心價格還會因此受到影響。

annotation3 Blood Diamond

‘They said it came from the heart of the earth, to test the heart of the man’. It was the first lines in this movie trailer and also, gave the audiences a concept about this movie's issue. As we can see, the army forced black people to collect diamond in a river, however, when they successfully find a rare diamond in that muddy river, they could not own the diamond. They had to hang out what they had discovered, and as we can image, they would not have any chance to share any benefit from the diamond and could not get any reward. The black man who found a rare pink diamond in the trailer was called Solomon. He tried to own this diamond as his fortune secretly and decided to pretend that he didn’t discover anything in the muddy river. However, the guarder observed his attempt and from then on, Solomon’s destiny was wholly changed.

Solomon wanted to use the diamond to support his family departing from the poverty and the life style as slave. For Danny, that rare pink diamond was such a great chance that could help him to being rich. And for the army, they needed that diamond for exchanging fortune, and used that enormous fortune to support their army. For three different reasons, this diamond became a fatal attraction. In this movie, I regarded Solomon as an impression of the poor, who tried to improve his life but exploited by power group. The army was regarded as that power group which forced the poor to be their slaves and made them to sink into the poverty. On top of that, I regard Danny as the rich who desire for power and fortune to fulfill his psychological poverty.

In the movie, Solomon tried any way to keep that diamond just as the poor’s hard working. He said lines to express anguish toward the unfair society and army’s cruelty. ‘My family, my home, I could lost everything.’ Army’s exploitation was the society’s unfriendly environment toward the poor. The poor’s poverty was because they didn’t have power to protect their right and respect. Who can get the power and the right of management, and then who can control the economy condition. The rich didn’t satisfy with their life, their psychological poverty cause their pursuit of fortune.