Some people believe the range of technology available to individuals today is increasing the gap between poor people and rich people. Others think it is having an opposite effect. Discuss both views and give your opinion?
People are divided on the role of technology in our lives. Some individuals opine that technology increases wealth inequality, whereas others believe that technology has brought the rich and the poor closer. I believe, although wealth inequality has increased in the last few years, technology is not the reason. Technology has actually reduced the gap between the rich and the poor.
There are many reasons why some people think that technology increases the gap between the rich and the poor. To begin with, new technology tends to be affordable by only the affluent sections of the society and the poorer elements are denied the opportunities that this provides. In other words, new technologies favour the rich as they can afford them and use these technologies to further earn more money. Furthermore, technologies in the form of machines are being used by rich corporations to either replace labour or force them to work for cheap. Thus, while the profits of the rich are increasing, the poor are losing jobs and becoming poorer. It is a fact that real wages have not increased in the past few decades in most of the developed countries.
On the other hand, those who believe that technology is actually beneficial, cite the following reasons. Firstly, technology has created huge opportunities for the poor where none existed previously. For example, some technologies such as communications or networking give poor people a chance to earn a better living and also increase their education opportunities. To cite an example, online education is not only cheaper but also much more affordable and this has enabled many poor to access university education which they previously couldn’t. What is more, technology has been the answer to many problems faced by the poor like water purification without electricity, cheap transportation and so on. Last but not least, technology has increased transparency in governance, bringing down corruption and thus helping the poor immensely.
I believe that technology is not the reason for the increase in the gap between the rich and poor. The real reason for the increasing gap is actually the lack of regulation on new technologies, which allows their benefits to be hoarded by the rich. For example, no price control on even life-saving medicine and latest research, which makes these medicines unaffordable for all but the super-rich. The same medicines after price checks and regulations can not only save lives but also save the poor from falling into poverty. Thus, technology when regulated properly decreases the rich-poor gap rather than increasing it.
Summing up, technology can actually lessen the gap between the rich and the poor. It is not the technology to blame for the gap, it is the access to technology, which is to blame.
Plan followed
Intro: Discuss essay intro
Para 1: Why some people say technology increases the gap
Para 2: Other view
Para 3: Own view
Conclusion: Repetition of your opinion
Written by: Indroop Singh Makkar
can you provide reading all passage of 7th December exam with answers . if it is possible then u can send me on my email id sukhgill1594@gmail.com . thanks