Get people above the United Nations poverty line!
September 16th, 2009 | Published in Economics idea
I could accept an economic system where everyone lives above the economic poverty line defined by the United Nations.
“Fundamentally, poverty is a denial of choices and opportunities, a
violation of human dignity. It means lack of basic capacity to participate
effectively in society. It means not having enough to feed and cloth a
family, not having a school or clinic to go to, not having the land on which
to grow one’s food or a job to earn one’s living, not having access to
credit. It means insecurity, powerlessness and exclusion of individuals,
households and communities. It means susceptibility to violence, and it
often implies living on marginal or fragile environments, without access to
clean water or sanitation”
While this definition doesn’t give dollar figures for poverty, I like the concepts it uses. The idea is that people need not only to be able to meet their basic needs. They need to be able to participate meaningfully in their communities. Poverty isn’t so much about how much you have in absolute terms. It is more about how you can function in your society.
