Section One
© Depaul Trust
The nature and causes of poverty,
nationally and globally
What is poverty?
Think about some of the signs that might alert you to the
presence of poverty, whether in the UK or overseas…
Poor education
Low status
Vulnerability
Inadequate nourishment
Inadequate clothing
Lack of power
No access to clean
drinking water
…and try to define poverty in a
sentence.
Poor sanitation
Insufficient food
Poor housing
Unemployment
Poverty is:
Poor health
The European Union’s working definition of poverty is:
“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”.
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.
How is poverty measured?
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.
As most of those living in absolute
poverty are in developing countries,
this is the main focus of this
resource.
What does Catholic Social Teaching say about poverty?
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”?
The Causes of 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
This is what some other people said…
“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.
“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
“… 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.
Some causes of poverty in Canada are:
•
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 developing countries are:
• Unfair trade
• HIV and AIDS
• Debt
• Conflict
• Unfair land distribution
• Natural disasters
• Lack of access to education
Poverty is complex; many aspects are interconnected.
Some of its causes and effects make a cycle:
Poor education
Low paid job/ no job
Poor farming methods
Less money for:
Erosion
Health care
Food
Education
Poor crop
Housing
Less to sell
Hunger
Poverty
Unfair trade is one of the main causes of poverty
in developing countries
• 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.)
What does Catholic Social Teaching say about fair trade?
Read these quotations from Pope Paul VI:
“…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)
“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)
Would you say that Catholic Social
Teaching regards fair trade as a
matter of charity, or of justice?