(2015, p. 16). The Age of Sustainable Development. New York, Columbia University Press]
Being poor is often thought not being able to make enough for a living, but poor in reality means not having sewage or household sanitation, often defecating in public places or not being able to meet human needs for food, water, and education. [footnoteRef:2] These countries tend to have extremely low GDP per capita below $1035 (i. e. $3 per day), thus, it is not easy for a country to get out of the bottom billion by themselves, as being poor just attracts more poorness. [footnoteRef:3] Even with help from outside countries, the task is incredibly complicated as there are many traps and barriers to overcome. A bottom-billion (i. e. extremely poor) country can achieve economic prosperity and good governance with the help of the military, but the UN's "soldiers" that try to help poor countries are not adequately prepared for the challenge. On the other hand, international armies do make a change with "minimal" efforts compared to the outcome. Moreover, corrupt governments that use revenues for a tiny class of insiders can create huge inequality. However, exposure to the public is a powerful weapon that NGOs and even brave individuals can use to destroy a corrupt government if used correctly. [2: Jeffrey D. Sachs (2015, p. 30). ] [3: Jeffrey D. Sachs (2015, p. 46). ] According to Collier, the poorest countries struggle to recover from economic dysfunction and bad governance because of the conflict trap, the natural resource trap, the landlocked countries trap, and the bad governance trap. The conflict trap refers to civil war. Civil war is more likely to happen in poor countries with low incomes. [footnoteRef:4] Moreover, civil war also reduces income, and low income causes an increase in the risk of civil war. [footnoteRef:5] Thus, it is extremely hard for poor countries to get out of this vicious cycle. For example, Burkina Faso is one of the poorest countries in the world as it was conquered by France and because of their lack of sustainability economically and governmentally, they are prone to go to civil war. Later, the civil war caused Burkina Faso's government to spend money to "protect" it, and in effect, the economy would decrease. That is without taking into account the loss of life, loss of jobs, and diseases that also harm the economy dramatically. Moreover, as if it wasn't enough, it is also normal that when a country is about to have a civil war, investors and companies flee; thus, the economy declines even further. [footnoteRef:6] Also, when the economy of a country is weak, rebellion is not difficult, since governance is also likely to be weak. [footnoteRef:7] Countries that have a dependence on commodity exports (e.g., oil and diamonds) and surprisingly subject to a higher risk of civil war, as other people take advantage of the opportunity. [footnoteRef:8] For example, "international companies have advanced funding to rebel moveme...
