Poverty Solutions Based on Tolstoy's Theories

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Claire Lewis Poverty Solutions Based on Tolstoy’s Theories Poverty has been an ongoing issue for many years starting back to when money first became a means of exchange. Money creates a barrier between the rich and poor, which has tried to be broken many times. Different theories have been used to try to fix poverty, but all have always been unsuccessful. Tolstoy, a man from Russia, came up with a theory that he shared with the world in his 1887 novel, What Is to be Done? Tolstoy didn’t make poverty disappear, however, he did create a theories that are still followed by many people today to find a solution to poverty. After seeing how poor people were forced to live, Tolstoy decided he needed to do something to change it, which is how his theories formed. Tolstoy saw how poverty was an ongoing cycle that wasn’t going to stop unless there was a change in how the system worked. At first, Tolstoy would just hand out money or food to beggars he saw on the street. But, he later learned that this wasn’t going to solve anything. This would only help out a person for a moment, however it wouldn’t solve any issues. Tolstoy needed to create a way for the people in poverty to be able to support themselves. After much thought, Tolstoy concluded that rich people shouldn’t just hand out money; rather they need to change the way they live. Rich people need to learn to spend their money on things that matter, instead of wasting it on unnecessary things. They need to do things for themselves instead of using “slaves” to do their work for them. Tolstoy wanted rich people to realize they don’t need many coats for multiple occasions, when some people on the streets don’t have any coats at all. Overall, Tolstoy’s theory said that poverty cannot be fixed by just handing out money, rather people need to change the way systems work. Although Tolstoy did not eliminate

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