Feudalism, Poverty and the rise of Islamic fundamentalism, Barriers to economic development and poverty reduction

Feudalism

Pakistan is home to a large feudal landholding system where landholding families hold thousands of acres and do little work on the agriculture themselves. They enlist the services of their serfs to perform the labor of the land. 51% of poor tenants owe money to the landlords. The landlords' position of power allows them to exploit the only resource the poor can possibly provide: their own labor.


Poverty and the rise of Islamic fundamentalism

The rise of poverty in the country has been correlated with the rise of Islamic Fundamentalism in many parts of the country. The Pakistani government's attempts at proposed reforms have been criticized as "weak" and has been associated with an "expedient brand of romance between the establishment and the religious right". Madrassa education is offered on the pretext that they provide better education than the other schools. They study in a religious environment that has been radicalized by the world-sponsored exposure of the "Holy Jihad" in Afghanistan.


Poverty and the lack of a modern curriculum have proved destabilizing factors for Pakistani society that have been exploited by religious organizations banned by the government to run schools and produce militant literature. Though many madrassas are benign, there are those that subscribe to the radicalist branches of Sunni Islam,.


As a result, Islamic political parties have become more powerful in Pakistan and have considerable sympathy among the poor. This phenomenon is also pronounced in the North Western Frontier Province. The clergy have become more powerful in Pakistan and have considerable sympathy among the poor.

Barriers to economic development and poverty reduction

For years economists thought that countries throughout the world would follow a the same basic pattern for economic development. It was thought that with some initial capital investment, nations would continue on a path from pre-industrial agrarian societies to industrialization. However, many today hold that these theories are highly misleading when they are applied to developing nations today.


The situation faced by developing nations today are very different than those faced by the developed nations when they were going through economic development. Among the new realities facing developing nations are a much larger population, fewer natural resources, and a poorer climate. Most importantly, today’s developed nations did not have other powerful developed nations to contend with during their early process of development. This means that it is much more difficult for poor nations today to achieve economic development.