Section One

The nature and causes of poverty,

nationally and globally

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Poverty is:

What is poverty?

Think about some of the signs that might alert you to the presence of poverty, whether in the UK or overseas…

…and try to define poverty in a sentence.

Insufficient food

Inadequate nourishment

Poor housing

Inadequate clothing

No access to clean drinking water

Poor sanitation

Poor education

Poor health

Unemployment

Vulnerability

Lack of power

Low status

“Persons, families and groups of persons whose resources (material, cultural and social) are so limited as to exclude them from the minimum acceptable way of life in the Member State to which they belong”.

The European Union’s working definition of poverty is:

Definitions change with time, but this is now the most commonly used definition of poverty in the industrialised world.

It recognises that poverty is not just about income but about the effective exclusion of people living in poverty from ordinary living patterns, customs and activities.

Absolute poverty is measured by comparing a person’s total income against the total cost of a specific ‘basket’ of essential goods and services. People with inadequate income to purchase this basket of items are considered to be living in absolute poverty.

Relative poverty compares a person’s total income and spending patterns with those of the general population. People with lower income who spend a larger portion of their income on a basket of goods and services, compared with a threshold typical of the general population, are considered to be living in relative poverty.(Source: http://canadianeconomy.gc.ca)

The World Bank defines absolute (or extreme) poverty as living on below US$1 a day, and moderate poverty as living on US$1 - US$2 a day. Based on these figures, half the world’s population – about three billion people - are considered poor, with one in six living in extreme poverty.

How is poverty measured?

As most of those living in absolute poverty are in developing countries,

this is the main focus of this resource.

Populorum Progressio (“On the development of peoples”) was an encyclical written by Pope Paul VI in 1967.

It addressed many of the global issues of his day, including poverty and hunger, the arms race, and unfair trade.

How would you summarize this document in a sentence?

What fears/risks are predicted if change to the distribution of wealth does not occur?

What did Pope Paul consider far more important in the fight against poverty than the redistribution of money? Why?

What are the responsibilities of “the rich”?

What does Catholic Social Teaching say about poverty?

There is enough in the world to supply the needs of every person,

so why does poverty exist?

Why do YOU think poverty exists?

Jot down your ideas

The Causes of Poverty

This is what some other people said…

“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed.” Mahatma Gandhi, Indian philosopher internationally esteemed for his doctrine of non-violent protest, 1869-1948

“No drug, not even alcohol, causes the fundamental ills of society. If we're looking for the source of our troubles, we shouldn't test people for drugs, we should test them for stupidity, ignorance, greed and love of power.”

P. J. O'Rourke, American political commentator, journalist, writer and humorist, b.1947

The poverty of our century is unlike that of any other.  It is not, as poverty was before, the result of natural scarcity, but of a set of priorities imposed upon the rest of the world by the rich.”

John Berger, novelist, painter and art historian, b.1926.

“… the quest for profit at any cost and the lack of effective responsible concern for the common good have concentrated immense resources in the hands of a few while the rest of humanity suffers in poverty and neglect.”

Pope John Paul II, Lenten message 2003

Poverty is caused by a huge number of factors, often affecting those who are already the poorest and most vulnerable.

This happens to individuals and to social groups; It happens nationally and internationally.

• Accidents and natural disasters, with inadequate insurance

• Family breakdown

• Changes in government policy

• Employment-related problems eg. short-term job contracts, low pay, decline in local traditional industries, unemployment

• Social exclusion and no access to benefits or inadequate benefits

• Drink and drugs dependency

• Poor health (clinical, medical and emotional)

• Inadequate pensions

• Personal debt

Some causes of poverty in Canada are:

• Unfair trade

• HIV and AIDS

• Debt

• Conflict

• Unfair land distribution

• Natural disasters

• Lack of access to education

Some causes of poverty in developing countries are:

Poverty is complex; many aspects are interconnected. Some of its causes and effects make a cycle:

Poor farming methods

Poor education

Health care

Low paid job/ no job

Food

Housing

Education

Less money for: Erosion

Poor crop

Less to sell

Hunger

Poverty

• According to a UN study, sub-Saharan Africa is worse off by US$1.2 billion due to the terms of trade effects generated by the Uruguay Round (a series of international trade negotiations from 1986-94)

• The average EU farmer receives the equivalent of US$16,000 per year in agricultural support, a hundred times more than the average annual earnings of the rural poor in sub-Saharan Africa

• Poor countries are paid low prices because of oversupply, rich country subsidies and rich country tariff barriers. (You will hear more about this when we look at the WTO.)

Unfair trade is one of the main causes of poverty in developing countries

What does Catholic Social Teaching say about fair trade?

“What applies to national economies and to highly developed nations must also apply to trade relations between rich and poor nations. Indeed, competition should not be eliminated from trade transactions; but it must be kept within limits so that it operates justly and fairly, and thus becomes a truly human endeavour.” (Populorum Progressio, 61)

“ ‘God intended the earth and everything in it for the use of all human beings and peoples. Thus, under the leadership of justice and in the company of charity, created goods should flow fairly to all.’ All other rights, whatever they may be, including the rights of property and free trade, are to be subordinated to this principle.” (Populorum Progressio, 22)

“…trade relations can no longer be based solely on the principle of free, unchecked competition, for it very often creates an economic dictatorship. Free trade can be called just only when it conforms to the demands of social justice.” (Populorum Progressio, 59)

Read these quotations from Pope Paul VI:

Would you say that Catholic Social Teaching regards fair trade as a matter of charity, or of justice?