Elimination of the extremes of wealth and poverty

Will be no millionaires possible and no extremely poor

"When the laws He has instituted are carried out, there will be no millionaires possible in the community and likewise no extremely poor."

(Attributed to 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 217)

Greatest means for prevention of poverty is laws to prevent extremes

"Organize in an effort to help them and prevent increase of poverty. The greatest means for prevention is that whereby the laws of the community will be so framed and enacted that it will not be possible for a few to be millionaires and many destitute. One of Bahá'u'lláh's teachings is the adjustment of means of livelihood in human society. Under this adjustment there can be no extremes in human conditions as regards wealth and sustenance."

(Attributed to? 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 216)

Bahá’í System Prevents Extremes of Wealth and Poverty

"… Of course conditions in the East differ where the Countries are rarely industrial and mostly agricultural; we should have to apply different laws from the West and that is why the principles of the Movement strike at the root which is common to them both. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has developed in various of His talks, which you will find in different compilations, the principles upon which the Bahá’í economic system would be based. A system that prevents among others the gradual control of wealth in the hands of a few and the resulting state of both extremes, wealth and poverty."

(From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, October 28, 1927: Extracts from the Bahá’í Writings on the Subject of Agriculture and Related Subjects, a compilation of the Universal House of Justice, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1860)

Topics

Food

"All the peoples of the world will enjoy like interests, and the poor shall possess a portion of the comforts of life. Just as...the wealthy enjoy a variety of food, the needy shall have their necessities and no longer live in poverty."

(Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 102)

Housing

"All the peoples of the world will enjoy like interests, and the poor shall possess a portion of the comforts of life. Just as the rich are surrounded by their luxuries in palaces, the poor will have at least their comfortable and pleasant places of abode..."

(Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 102)

From Lights of Guidance (to categorize)

Voluntary Sharing

"The Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh advocate voluntary sharing, and this is a greater thing than the equalization of wealth. For equalization must be imposed from without, while sharing is a matter of free choice."

(‘Abdu’l-Bahá: Peace More Than an End to War, Wilmette, p. 115, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1863)

Social Inequality

"…social inequality is the inevitable outcome of the natural inequality of men. Human beings are different in ability and should, therefore, be different in their social and economic standing. Extremes of wealth and poverty should, however, be totally abolished. Those whose brains have contributed to the creation and improvement of the means of production must be fairly rewarded, though these means may be owned and controlled by others."

(From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, January 26, 1935, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1865)

"Equality is a Chimera!"

"Equality is a chimera! It is entirely impracticable! Even if equality could be achieved it could not continue—and if its existence were possible, the whole order of the world would be destroyed. The law of order must always obtain in the world of humanity. Heaven has so decreed in the creation of man."

(‘Abdu’l-Bahá: Paris Talks, p. 152, London, 1969 ed., in Lights of Guidance, no. 1866)

Wages

"… The Master has definitely stated that wages should be unequal, simply because that men are unequal in their ability, and hence should receive wages that would correspond to their varying capacities and resources. This view seems to contradict the opinion of some modern economists. But the friends should have full confidence in the words of the Master, and should give preference to His statements over those voiced by our so-called modern thinkers."

(From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, December 26, 1935, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1867)

A New Universal Attitude Needs to be Fostered—Based on Spiritual Verities

"The inordinate disparity between rich and poor, a source of acute suffering, keeps the world in a state of instability, virtually on the brink of war. Few societies have dealt effectively with this situation. The solution calls for the combined application of spiritual, moral and practical approaches. A fresh look at the problem is required, entailing consultation with experts from a wide spectrum of disciplines, devoid of economic and ideological polemics, and involving the people directly affected in the decisions that must urgently be made. It is an issue that is bound up not only with the necessity for eliminating extremes of wealth and poverty but also with those spiritual verities the understanding of which can produce a new universal attitude. Fostering such an attitude is itself a major part of the solution."

(The Universal House of Justice: The Promise of World Peace, pp. 10-11, Haifa, 1985, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1872)

Components

• profit-sharing
• Huqúqu'lláh
• taxation
• Zakát

See also

• Capitalism
• Communism

To-dos for this page

• Add here or on relevant pages, sections 79-81 from Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, on poor.