Economic Inequality

Both rulers and trader acquired wealth with the help of new agriculture, trade and the arrival of coins which consequently gave birth to economic inequalities. In the Buddhist birth-stories, the names of those persons are frequently mentioned who possessed eighty koti of wealth. Some remedial measures are suggested by Buddhism to abolish poverty. An advice is given to a prince in the Digha Nika to note to take possession of something which is not given to him. The root of immorality, theft, falsehood, violence, hatred, cruelty, etc. is poverty and it has been also mentioned in this text that poverty arises because the poor are not able to produce wealth. The Buddha advises that farmers should be supplied with gain and other facilities, traders with capital, the labourers with sufficient wages to remove such crimes. The Buddha prescribes these remedial measures to remove poverty from the life of a person in this world. There are prospects for the poor in the next world as well. It has been asserted that the poor are reborn wealthy if they give alms to monks.^[1]