What is Poverty? What Causes of Poverty?
Poverty Poverty is the state of not having enough money or material possessions to live comfortably. Poverty is defined as a state of being unable to meet one's basic necessities. In this context, determining what constitutes basic necessities is necessary before identifying poor people. These can be defined as "those necessary for survival" or more broadly as "those reflecting the community's predominant standard of living." The first criterion would apply exclusively to individuals on the verge of famine or death from exposure; the second would apply to those whose nourishment, housing, and clothes, while adequate for survival, fall short of those of the general population. The difficulty of definition is exacerbated by the noneconomic connotations that the term poverty has acquired. Poor health, a lack of education or skills, an inability or unwillingness to work, high rates of disruptive or disorderly behaviour, and improvidence have all been linked to p...