Invest in work ethics to reduce poverty

Do people choose to be poor?

This question could be a lead query in a Social Science research or any other attempt to understand why people are poor.

The cycle of poverty witnessed among many of our people, inasmuch as it can be attributed to social economic factors, has some aspects that can also be caused by the choices people make.

In behavioral economics, people have been found to be making choices that fundamentally affect their social economic wellbeing.

To understand this, we need to analyse certain choices people make that contribute to whether they become poorer or diminish the little resources they have.

The poverty index in Kenya shows that more than 60 per cent of our population lives below the poverty line.

However, majority of these poor people continuously make choices that are detrimental to their economic wellbeing.

From the health point of view, people who refuse to eat simple but nutritious food are likely to become sick and spend lots of money at a later stage.

So, indeed choices have consequences. What about a parent that fails to guide his child properly in his studies at secondary level and ends up paying a lot of money to a private university instead of working hard to attain grades that can allow him to get government scholarship? What about people who eat junk and cheap food but end up paying exorbitant cash to treat weight-related ailments?

The cost of paying for mistakes, to a large extent, makes people poorer.

In the “Culture of Poverty” Oscar Lewis said “since human action is both constrained and enabled by the meaning people give to their actions, these dynamics should become central to our understanding of the production and reproduction of poverty and social inequality”.

Therefore, giving meaning to the actions we take has a long term consequence.

But sometimes perception can also be guided by cultural factors as well.

Max Weber, in “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism” shows religion plays an important role in the conceptualisation of work ethics.

In his thesis, Weber attributes the success of Calvinist Protestants in business and industry to the process of reformation of the church.

The Reformation profoundly affected the view of work, dignifying even the most mundane professions as adding to the common good and thus blessed by God, as much as any “sacred” calling.

A common illustration is that of a cobbler, hunched over his work, who devotes his entire effort to the praise of God.

The industrial revolution in Europe and America was mainly driven by work ethics that Weber has described.

The thinking within the protestant Calvinist influenced also the culture of saving.

Overt misuse of resources was abhorred and many traders, artisans and other professionals not only worked hard but also exercised restraint in unnecessary expenditure.

These savings led to first indications of the capitalistic form of trade.

The Industrial revolution was necessitated by an increase in the volume of trade and consequently, mechanised farming and the introduction of the steam engine ensued.

Attitude therefore plays an important role in how people perceive the discipline of behavioral control.

The Protestant ethics that Weber talks of is all about shaping behaviour.

Many youths today prefer to wait for the Government to provide them with jobs.

However, Government cannot create jobs for all the citizens even though it remains the largest employer.

Many jobless people develop a sense of apathy and helplessness, causing them to fail to identify opportunities that become available to them.

Following Weber’s analysis, the ethics of work is not only about working hard but also about the choices people make in their daily lives as they pursue the opportunities they seek.

The attitude of the Calvinists with regard to work has to do with the assumption that God shall be pleased with someone so long as he devotes time and energy to that particular work while praising God. People avoid doing some types of work due to the perception that such jobs do not fit their class.

Someone might find it easier to depend on someone else instead of doing any work available.

The culture of seeking white-collar jobs is still prevalent.

Of course, the 21st century approach would be quite different from what Max Weber advocated for.

The people of Kenya need to introduce new work ethics that require people to devote their time and energy to forms of trade that they hold with passion.

A transition from mainly agrarian system to a more technical-oriented approach could reduce poverty and increase productivity.

The future of Kenya’s economy requires an innovative approach that is driven by work and ethics.

The writer is deputy governor, Isiolo County