Poverty

Poverty is the state of being without the necessities of daily living, often associated with need, hardship and lack of resources across a wide range of circumstances. For some, poverty is a subjective and comparative term; for others, it is moral and evaluative; and for others, scientifically established. The principal uses of the term include:

Debates about poverty

Poverty is a highly political issue. People with right wing views often see it as related to laziness, a lack of family planning or too much interference of government. People with left wing views see it more in terms of social justice and lack of opportunity in education. It is a highly complex issue in which various factors often play a part.

Related Topics:
Political - Right wing - Laziness - Family planning - Left wing - Social justice - Education

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The condition in itself is not always considered negatively, even if this is the prevalent interpretation: some cultural or religious groups consider poverty an ideal condition to live in, a condition necessary in order to reach certain spiritual or intellectual states. Poverty in this sense is understood as the lack of material possessions. For some orders this is equivalent to voluntary simplicity: Mother Teresa said that the vow "frees us from all material possessions". However the vow of poverty traditionally goes beyond that: the Dominicans "lived a life of voluntary poverty, exposing themselves to innumerable dangers and sufferings, for the salvation of others." (Honorius III, 1217).

Related Topics:
Voluntary simplicity - Mother Teresa - Dominican - Honorius III

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There are also several different ways to measure poverty. See income inequality metrics.

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The German social scientist Richard Albrecht recently gave a theoretical overview on "pauper/ism" within advanced capitalist societies according to that "late modern age" (Anthony Giddens)

Related Topics:
Richard Albrecht - Anthony Giddens

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as sketched as a grounded concept by Karl Marx named "relative Übervölkerung" (relative overpopulation). Moreover, this copyleft-essay sketches within current German society an empirical "poverty line" which also includes "working poor". The scholarly piece has got an English summary: "Pauper(ismus) bei Marx"; ; abriged version (without English summary): "Pauperismus: Mit uns zieht die neue Zeit". Die Sozialpolitik der SPD und die Wiederkehr eines überwunden geglaubten Phänomens

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