"The mother of revolution and crime is poverty"(Aristotle). Do you agree?

Throughout history, countless revolutions, which have collapsed fearsome, autocratic governments or brought the downfall of powerful countries from within, have arised. Such an attempt to change the system of government, usually by force, is definitely not to be underestimated or trifled with. Occurring even more frequently in our daily lives are offences punishable by law, or simply known as crime. Ranging from a simple "get rich quick"scheme to assassinations of prestigious figures, these crimes have taken place world-wide, and sadly, there is no stopping to them. Even though they may not be as impactful as a revolution, the feelings they inflict on victims and thier family are equally agonizing. The mother of revolution and crime refers to the most significant cause leading to them. One cause is poverty, which is the state of being poor, but I agree to a small extent that the mother of revolution and crime is poverty as I believe there are more important causes such as freedom.

Much as we want to deny it, we cannot refute the fact that money is essential to survive in this mecenary world. No man would want to remain poor and suffer his entire life, hence thier desire to have more money. According to an article entitled "S'pore's dirty secret" in the Straits Times, the salaries of all occupational groups rose, except the group of cleaners and labourers. Even more ironical is the decrease in thier wages by 30 per cent between 1996 and 2006. Furthermore, in the international Herald Tribune, Wayne Arnold mentions in his article that while average wages were rising with the economy, incomes among the bottom 30 percent of households had fallen. Considering that these people are already poor yet they are still getting poorer, it is understandable that they will feel outraged and depressed. Moreover, the increasing income dispairity between them and the richer majority is akin to adding fuel to fire. In a country which stresses on meritocracy, where the skilled and educated are rewarded, this will put pressure on the poor who most likely cannot match up in terms of ability and intelligence. Out of desperation, they may resort to criminal acts such as theft and robbery. Moreover, if such a scenario prevails over the long run, the poor minority may initiate a revolution to fight for income equality. Such an event would devastate a small country like Singapore as she is highly dependent on her human resources. Thus, this supports the claim that the mother of revolution and crime is poverty.



However, others may argue that freedom is a more significant cause than poverty. If given a choice between freedom and a slave that earns a high salary, but is at the beck and call of the master, any rational person would most likely choose the former. In the blockbuster movie "V for Vendetta", Britian was under the rule of a tyrant and corrupt government. Even though her people were earning decent wages, they suffered under thier government's iron fist. However, the charismatic "V" sparked a revolution by emerging with an aim to bring freedom and justice back to this society. This movie shows how important freedom is and how far a person is willing to go in order to achieve it for his people, even if it means sacrificing himself. Furthermore, people of all income groups stood together to oppose the government, reiterating the point that freedom is more essential than money. Hence, this is against the view that the mother of revolution and crime is poverty.

In conclusion, poverty may cause crimes and revolutions, but freedom is a more important cause as it constitutes human rights and no one has the authority to deny others of it, whereas money can always be earned anytime. Even if a person is poor, he or she may still live happily but no person denied of freedom can ever be proud of his or her life.