During the previous class, Professor Victor requested that we write our responses on our opinion of “What is Poverty.” This was a very difficult statement for me to quantify. First, I tend to be a “numbers guy.” Said differently, whenever I am in a situation I tend to quantify it. For example, when I woke up this morning, I thought about everything I had to do today, in terms of homework and extra-curricular activities, and assigned an appropriate time interval for the activity. Further, whenever I go to the grocery store, I do not simply stroll through the aisles and put items in the basket. Instead, I calculate how many days the combination of bread and sliced turkey will give me, and approximately how much money I will save by purchasing groceries instead of going to Subway every day. For this reason, it was difficult for me to quantify what poverty actually is. My best effort is as follows: Poverty is absolute across the board, i.e. requiring a basic level of sustenance to literally survive, but it is relative between geographies. For example, someone in a certain geography may have a lack of upward mobility, or may have a lack of information where if information were available, that person would not be classified as poor, or under the poverty line (the person might be lacking the information on where to sell his or her surplus of crops, where if this information were available, he or she would not be considered under the poverty line as they could sell their surplus). Similar to the fact that poverty is a difficult term to define, it is also difficult to prove that you are assisting in its alleviation. A clear example of this would be the micro lenders, discussed in all five of the articles our syllabus had us read for this week. For example, in the discussion of “social business”, or social capitalism, “microcredit is just one example of how a business approach can help alleviate poverty when we move beyond the idea that business by definition has to mean making financial profit for the owner” (Yunus 1, “How Social Business Can Create a World Without Poverty”). Here, as well as in the article, “Saving the World with a Cup of Yogurt” (Prasso), numerous examples are given that describe individuals classified as poor taking out loans to purchase cows, eggs, and cars, where each of these purchases lead to a profit of some sort. Thus, the lives of each individual were improved through this “social capitalism” that seemed to be mutually beneficial to both lender and borrower, providing for economic gain and upward mobility for the borrowers.In contrast to this statement, many people say that the interest rates charged to borrowers, which are often at an annual rate of 20% or higher, demonstrate those with means taking advantage of the poor. I was especially intrigued by the “Mexican Maverick” article, where this argument was presented as follows: Prices inside Elektra, a discount retailer in Mexico, are listed by their monthly payment instead of the actual price of the item if it were to be paid for in total at that moment. Critics said that, “People who shop at Electra are thinking in terms of whether they can afford the weekly payment. Electra is exploiting that psychology” (Coster 1, “Mexican Maverick”). But Ricardo Salinas, who owns the Electra chain of stores, among other businesses who cater to Mexico’s poorer residents, stated that, “If we were such a bad guy, they wouldn’t come back to us. Maybe they have nowhere else to go” (Coster 1, “Mexican Maverick”). I agree with the above rationale that the poor residents of Mexico, or of any country for that matter, have limited choices in terms of businesses that will extend them credit, otherwise classified as the vehicle for upward mobility out of the classification of “poor” or in “poverty”. Thus, I have come to the firm opinion that those engaged in “social capitalism” are a benefit to the poor and those in poverty, assisting them in their entrepreneurial ventures despite interest rates that are high when compared to those in more developed countries, or when compared to those given to individuals that are not classified as being “poor”.
When I think of poverty, I tend to think in absolutes. I have seen enough working in developing countries to believe that far too many of the world’s population do not have easy or reliable access to clean water, food, medicine, education, and opportunities to lead a life of dignity and respect. What drove me first to work in international development was curiosity. I wanted to understand for myself what I saw on CNN news and what my economic development professor had spoken of in the classroom. What has made international development a passion and a career for me today is my belief that if government and business uphold the spirit of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations in December of 1948, that over time we will see the worlds population stand on a more equal footing in terms of the standards for living. I sincerely believe that through the correct blend of investment, governance, and technological advancement, it is possible that only a very small percentage of the people living in absolute poverty today will remain there in the future. This will not happen overnight and there is the potential that the standard of living in some of the worlds current economic powerhouses will decline in order to make this so.
In my first assignment in Nigeria with CRS I was able to witness first hand the effects of unethical business practice and poor governance. I had been tasked with auditing a peacebuilding program in the Niger Delta region, an area where millions of dollars of oil flow weekly into the wells of the some of the largest players in the oil industry. The village of Umwechen was one of the villages serviced by the program. In 1992 villagers from Umwechen had been slaughtered at gun fire while peacefully protesting the fact that the oil wells had been polluting the water supply for 30 years (which had led to disease), had created no jobs for the villagers, and had brought nothing in the way of infrastructure to the area (no paved roads, running water, and only intermittent electricity). No reparations had been made to the villagers who had been moved off their ancestral farm land to make way for the oil wells. The same wells which were in eyesight of the drinking supply and whose flames and burn off could be felt from the roadside almost 50 yards away.
A day after the government soldiers had fired into the crowd disrupting the protest, they returned to blowup every standing edifice in the village. Two schools, a garment factory, and every single home were destroyed. The survivors fled into the bush and returned three weeks later to find their families and friends lying there rotting in the fields under the sun.
After pressure from a local Irish Priest that had been working in the area, the oil company in question decided as an act of reparation it would build a health center for the village. Further, the government apologized for the tragedy and claimed it would discipline the commanders responsible.
I got to see the health center. It was a building full of weeds and trees that had never been staffed or provided with equipment. The soldiers went unpunished. Shell oil may have invested in a building, but made no plan to staff it or ensure the government kept it running. When unethical business meets bad governance, you have a recipe for the utter disregard for the dignity of human life and a situation for the marginalized which manifests itself in hopelessness. The village of Umwechen is an example of true poverty.
Written by Florian Schaaf
If you want to fight poverty, you have to answer many questions. But it all starts with one question that does not sound so difficult, but it is so hard to find an appropriate answer: What is poverty?
Who is poor? Is it about having or not having enough to eat and drink? Is it about having less than a specific amount of money per day, for example less than $1? Is it only a materialistic issue or also about intellectual poverty or poverty in education?
What do you have to consider if you talk about poverty? There are so many different measurements. Everyone of them has its strengths and weaknesses, but probably none can measure it really fairly. I do not think that I can just come up with the perfect measurement, I do not even know if it exists. But I want to explain shortly some issues that are considerable to me when talking about poverty and integrate some experiences that I made in Kenya.
First of all, of course, poverty is if someone cannot afford to buy enough to eat and drink for himself and his family. Nobody should have to struggle to survive. But therefore it is not enough to just figure out a certain amount of money that is necessary to survive and just say, that everyone who is under this line is poor. No, for example, even if someone has more than this specific amount to live you have to consider the way how he earns the money. I met several men and women in Kenya who indeed could provide enough for themselves and their families, but they had to work up to 16 hours a day, 7 days a week. If they didn’t, they would lose their job. Since it is hard enough to find one, they have no choice. This is definitely not a dignified life.
Poverty in education is another important issue. If you cannot afford to go to school or you do not even have the chance to go there because there are none, this is what poverty means to me as well. As an illiterate you are excluded from so many things in life and you are not able to take chances to move forward in life because of missing education.
But for me, poverty includes more than materialistic and educational issues. Needless to say, having enough bread and water is essential and achieving this in a dignified way is, like I mentioned before, important. However, in my opinion, poverty of hope is the worst poverty. What if you really do not see a way out of your current situation? What if you keep on asking yourself every day whether life makes sense for you? What if you are no longer waiting for chances to improve your living standard because you do not believe that there are chances? What if you have lost any hope?I met people in Africa who were heavily struggling every day with getting enough food, men and women whose biggest concern was to have something for lunch on the next day. But they were not downhearted because they believed that one day they will be able to escape from this status. This optimistic view helped them to keep on working hard and see their life worth living.I do not suggest that we should only help people who are without hope and not the poor in general. Every kind of poverty has to be fought. But the really poor people to me are the ones without hope because they have or see nothing that makes their life livable. I know this is almost impossible to measure. But not knowing how to measure it does not mean that we do not have to care about them with special attention.
Defining Poverty
written by Virginia Francis
The inability to meet basic needs to live with no opportunity for change and no access to resources or vital information that would give a person the ability to choose to make a positive change (the freedom to know).
Written by Cyrus Dadabhoy
We were then asked what our opinions of poverty were. Some defined it as a lack of basic means to lead a life, such as food, clothing, and shelter. Some said poverty signifies a lack of access to vital information, while others defined poverty as the lack of basic infrastructure to increase upward mobility. I find this debate on the definition of poverty very interesting and I believe poverty does comprise of all the aspects mentioned above. However, the one cruel aspect that poverty involves (and it is probably one of the cruelest effects of poverty) is that poor people not only lack education, and opportunities, (not to mention basic necessities) but they also lack the ability to speak up and get themselves counted in society. I believe that this is also a major constituent of the definition of poverty.
Written by Neal Palmer
The lack of opportunity to climb the socioeconomic ladder; relative to geographic location; partially determined by who gives/owns the opportunity, and who is empowered. In the USA, relative poverty is discussed more often, while the term absolute poverty may be more applicable in some other areas of the world, such as Sub-Saharan Africa.
Sapna Lathia
Poverty is a complex idea. The definition of poverty changes every day, and different people have a different interpretation of this complex idea. To me, poverty is not only the lack of income, but it is a lack of opportunity and a lack of access. A person facing poverty does not have the means to obtain food, shelter, clothing, water or sanitary conditions. More so, a person facing poverty does not have nutrition, health care, education or much deserved self respect. Poverty means the lack of belonging and complete isolation from society.
Dictionary.com defines poverty as, “the state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support; condition of being poor, indigence.” I feel that this definition does accurately depict this state of being. To me, poverty is more emotional. Poverty stricken individuals do not have access to a fair life. They are caught in a downward spiral—and many times the individuals were born into this lifestyle.
Laura Trott
Though I understand the need for our class to define and discuss what we term official “poverty,” the exactness of the economic definition matters little to me. Maybe it’s living on $1 per day. Maybe it’s $2 or $3. Either way, it speaks to abject circumstances that can manifest themselves on any continent. Together, the below comprise my personal definition of poverty.
(a) Unmet basic needs: nutritional food, clean drinking water, decent shelter, and the opportunity to work and earn a living wage which allows one to meet these needs.
(b) The inherent lack of dignity which manifests itself when the above needs cannot be attained.
(c) A lack of individual choice. Despite intelligence or work ethic, surroundings which force an individual to focus all efforts on basic, daily survival and prevent any chance of income growth or opportunity.
(d) A lack of education. This one is a little tricky. After all, one can be quite uneducated and still make a modest living in certain parts of the world. Also, it’s measure which is easily subject to relativity. What I’m ultimately referring to are circumstances where education is not an option, thus forcing individuals to live as described in the above bullet.
· Who are the poor? Do they define themselves as poor?
· What assistance or opportunities do they seek or desire?