5.20. A) What is poverty? Work in a small group and brainstorm this

question.

b) Read the text below and discuss the evolution of poverty from early

civilizations till now.

In order to reduce poverty, the causes of poverty must be fully understood. This can be difficult, because throughout history, poverty has been the natural economic state of human societies. Before 1700, most persons within a civilization lived on little to no income and fought daily for basic needs in order to survive. Life expectancy was low and high infant mortality rates were normal. Human innovation fueled the population surge seen throughout the world in the middle of the 18^th century. For example, the agricultural and industrial revolutions freed many from the pangs of poverty; however, much of the world was still left behind. The industrialization of many western countries employed systems of capitalism which created incentives for citizens to manufacture goods. For the most part, the governments of these countries furthered economic growth by fostering trade and creating lenient tax laws, so business owners were allowed to keep a large percentage of their own profits. In addition, most of the countries had rights to private property and bankruptcy laws to further entice entrepreneurs.

Poverty is incredibly hard to define. The supposed causes and consequences are potentially endless, and the analysis can become exceedingly complex. Over the past few decades alone, the definition of poverty has broadened immensely. In the most literal sense, poverty is having an income level below a set amount. However, throughout history, the definition has been expanded to reflect social aspects of poverty, including a person’s ability to afford basic needs and life expectancy.

Poverty came to the forefront of world politics in the 1970s as a result of numerous publications and a speech to the World Bank governors by Robert MacNamara in 1973. In addition, the definition of poverty expanded to not only include citizens unable to afford basic needs in the form of nutrition levels and subsistence, but also those unable to maintain socio-economic standards set by a given country. The definition of poverty continued to broaden beyond economic means and began to include social criteria such as access to healthcare and life expectancy.

Poverty continued to become increasingly more complex throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s. For the first time, there was a focus on factors that were known to increase the effects of poverty, such as drought. In addition, many were beginning to expand the use of gender roles when defining poverty. For all practical purposes, poverty was beginning to be synonymous with lack of livelihood. In fact, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) created the idea of human development: “the denial of opportunities and choices... to lead a long, healthy, creative life and to enjoy a decent standard of living, freedom, dignity, self-esteem and the respect of others.” Poverty has now become much more encompassing than a lack of income.