Global Poverty Debate Guide
From PhiloWiki
- Poverty is an economic condition of lacking both money and basic necessities needed to successfully live such as food, water, education, and shelter. There are many working definitions of "poverty," with considerable debate on how to best define the term. Income security, economic stability and the predictability of one's continued means to meet basic needs all serve as absolute indicators of poverty. Poverty may therefore also be defined as the economic condition of lacking predictable and stable means of meeting basic life needs. Additionally, the concept of "choice," or of "liberty," are often central to common understandings of poverty. Either an absolute lack of choice (i.e. slavery) in how one secures the means of meeting survival needs, or limited options for how to secure such means may also fit into common conceptions of poverty. The causes of poverty is highly debatable, though the most common causes are lack of education, war, natural disasters, political corruption, mental illness, and disability.
- Those who live in conditions of poverty lack a wide range of economic and other resources and may be described as poor, in low income, or impoverished. Some see the term as subjective and comparative, others see it as moral and evaluative, while others consider that it is scientifically established.
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Discussion questions
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