Michael Okunloro | Elevate Your Style

If I could permanently ban a word from general usage, it would be “poverty” or “scarcity.” Not because the words themselves are offensive, but because the conditions they describe should no longer exist.

We live in a world with immense wealth, where a small percentage of people hold more resources than entire nations. There is enough food, shelter, and opportunity for everyone—yet, due to systemic inequalities, millions still suffer from lack. The existence of poverty isn’t a result of scarcity; it’s a failure of distribution, priorities, and policies.

In an ideal world, we wouldn’t need words like “poverty” because no one would experience it. Everyone would have access to basic needs, education, and opportunities to thrive. Eliminating the word wouldn’t just be a linguistic change—it would be a reflection of a society that has finally eradicated suffering caused by inequality.

While banning a word won’t change reality on its own, I hope for a future where “poverty” is nothing more than an outdated term in history books—one that people read about with disbelief, unable to imagine a world where such a thing once existed.

If you could permanently ban a word from general usage, which one would it be? Why?