essay on poverty point

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Art of the Americas to World War I

Course: art of the americas to world war i   >   unit 2, poverty point, louisiana.

• Ohio Hopewell Culture
• Fort Ancient Culture: Great Serpent Mound
• America before Columbus: a Mississippian view of the cosmos

An ancient Indigenous city, 1650–800 B.C.E.

The site's history, six arched ridges, an ancient society, the abandonment of the site, want to join the conversation.

Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History Essays

Poverty point (2000–1000 b.c.).

Department of the Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas , The Metropolitan Museum of Art

October 2003

Poverty Point is located in the lower Mississippi valley of Louisiana, near both the Gulf Coast and the confluence of six major rivers. Strategically placed on numerous trade routes, the site of Poverty Point was large and influential, dominating much of the surrounding region and serving as a focus for innovation and growth. Unique in the configuration of its earthen structures—notably concentric, semi-elliptical ridges of great size—it had no equal in grandeur in its day. Earth-moving activities for the shaping of the wide plaza began about 1500 B.C. and while the construction history of the site is not well understood today, the earthen structures were built and enlarged for hundreds of years, with the site reaching its final plan at about 1000 B.C. The concentric semi-ellipses abut a bluff over the Bayou Maçon and enclose an open plaza covering an area of about 34 acres. Aislelike openings run between the concentric rings, which are thought to have stood over six feet high. They may have functioned, at least partially, as living areas. Mound A, the largest mound at the site, rises to a height of over 70 feet and is adjacent to the eastern side of the great ridges. Mound A is complex in plan and shape and is thought to be birdlike. Objects excavated at Poverty Point and related sites were often made of materials that originated in distant places—implying viable trade networks—and include chipped stone projectile points and tools, ground stone plummets, gorgets and vessels, and shell and stone beads. Hand-modeled clay objects, lowly fired, occur in a variety of shapes. Figurines and cooking balls are among them.

First reported in 1873, the semi-elliptical ridges of Poverty Point were thought to be natural formations. It was only in the 1950s, when the site was viewed from the air, that archaeologists realized they were manmade.

Department of the Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Poverty Point (2000–1000 B.C.).” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History . New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/popo/hd_popo.htm (October 2003)

Further Reading

Gibson, Jon L. The Ancient Mounds of Poverty Point: Place of Rings . Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2000.

Morgan, William N. Precolumbian Architecture in Eastern North America . Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 1999.

Thomas, David Hurst. Exploring Ancient Native America: An Archaeological Guide . New York: Routledge, 1999.

Additional Essays by Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas

• Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ La Venta: Sacred Architecture .” (October 2001)
• Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ La Venta: Stone Sculpture .” (October 2001)
• Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ Monte Albán .” (October 2001)
• Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ Monte Albán: Sacred Architecture .” (October 2001)
• Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ Monte Albán: Stone Sculpture .” (October 2001)
• Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ Teotihuacan: Mural Painting .” (October 2001)
• Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ Teotihuacan: Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon .” (October 2001)
• Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ Valdivia Figurines .” (October 2004)
• Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ Hopewell (1–400 A.D.) .” (October 2002)
• Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ Indian Knoll (3000–2000 B.C.) .” (October 2003)
• Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ African Rock Art .” (October 2000)
• Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ African Rock Art: Tassili-n-Ajjer (?8000 B.C.–?) .” (October 2000)
• Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ African Rock Art: The Coldstream Stone .” (October 2000)
• Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ Apollo 11 (ca. 25,500–23,500 B.C.) and Wonderwerk (ca. 8000 B.C.) Cave Stones .” (October 2000)
• Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ The Monumental Stelae of Aksum (3rd–4th Century) .” (October 2000)
• Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ Tikal .” (October 2001)
• Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ Tikal: Sacred Architecture .” (October 2001)
• Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ Tikal: Stone Sculpture .” (October 2001)
• Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ Art and the Fulani/Fulbe People .” (October 2002)
• Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ Great Zimbabwe (11th–15th Century) .” (October 2001)
• Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ Ife Pre-Pavement and Pavement Era (800–1000 A.D.) .” (October 2001)
• Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ Foundations of Aksumite Civilization and Its Christian Legacy (1st–8th Century) .” (October 2000)
• Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ Ife (from ca. 6th Century) .” (originally published October 2000, last revised September 2014)
• Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ Inland Niger Delta .” (October 2000)
• Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ Lydenburg Heads (ca. 500 A.D.) .” (October 2000)
• Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ Nok Terracottas (500 B.C.–200 A.D.) .” (October 2000)
• Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ The Empires of the Western Sudan .” (October 2000)
• Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ The Empires of the Western Sudan: Ghana Empire .” (October 2000)
• Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ The Empires of the Western Sudan: Mali Empire .” (October 2000)
• Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ The Empires of the Western Sudan: Songhai Empire .” (October 2000)
• Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ The Trans-Saharan Gold Trade (7th–14th Century) .” (October 2000)
• Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ Trade and the Spread of Islam in Africa .” (October 2001)
• Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ Mangarevan Sculpture .” (October 2003)
• Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ Tahiti .” (October 2003)
• Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ Cave Sculpture from the Karawari .” (October 2003)
• Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ The Fulani/Fulbe People .” (October 2002)
• Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ Great Serpent Mound .” (October 2002)
• Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ Ancient American Jade .” (October 2001)
• Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ Jade in Costa Rica .” (October 2001)
• Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ Jade in Mesoamerica .” (October 2001)
• Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ La Venta .” (October 2001)

Related Essays

• Great Serpent Mound
• Hopewell (1–400 A.D.)
• Blackwater Draw (ca. 9500–3000 B.C.)
• Indian Knoll (3000–2000 B.C.)
• North America, 2000–1000 B.C.
• Poverty Point
• Archaeology
• Mississippi
• North America

Poverty Point, Louisiana

Mound A, Poverty Point, Louisiana, c. 1300 B.C.E., earthwork, 710 feet long x 660 feet wide x 72 feet high (photo: courtesy of Jenny Ellerbe, 2012)

Plan of Poverty Point

An ancient Indigenous city, 1650–800 B.C.E.

In the Lower Mississippi Valley in Louisiana, an ancient Indigenous city called Poverty Point flourished between 1650–800 B.C.E. in the Late Archaic Period . [1] The people who traveled through and settled here built several monumental earthworks including Mound A, which is a massive structure, and six curved concentric earthen ridges. The Archaic Period people of the city gathered and moved over one million cubic meters of soil to create this lived-in environment. Spread out over seven square kilometers and never faced in stone, these structures and other public works blend into the land out of which they were built. During the Mid-Archaic period, between 3500 and 2800 B.C.E., Indigenous architects and engineers designed and built with their communities the earliest earthworks in Louisiana at Watson Brake . Various settled and nomadic communities would continue to build or maintain earthworks as burial sites or meeting places into and beyond the 18th century. Outside of Columbus, Ohio contemporary Indigenous communities have successfully advocated for several ancient earthworks to be protected as World Heritage Sites along with Poverty Point. In 2022, the large magnificent earthworks at Newark, Ohio were granted this protection, and one of the largest of these earthworks, on land currently leased to a golf course, will be returned to the state of Ohio for protection as a sacred Native American monument.

In the 19th century, Mound B and Mound C were recognized as ancient monuments. Mound A, the second-largest ancient architectural structure north of Mexico, was so large and appeared to be so thoroughly integrated into the contours of the land, that as late as 1926 archaeologists believed it was a natural feature of the landscape.

Ridges, Poverty Point, Louisiana, c. 1500 B.C.E. (photo: courtesy of Jenny Ellerbe, 2012)

The sculpted concentric ridges that are unique to Poverty Point are low to the ground and spread out over a mile in length. Today they are worn down by time and use of the land, but still vaguely visible in raking light between the mist and the built-up ridges. Neither colonists nor archaeologists recognized these ridges as built monumental structures until the summer of 1953, when archaeologist James Ford happened to look at Army Corps aerial photographs of the region that revealed their distinct manmade composition.

Aerial photograph of the six ridges at Poverty Point, Louisiana, c. 1500 B.C.E., six semicircular earthworks, originally six feet high and three-quarters of a mile long (photo: Edgar Tobin Aerial Surveys, courtesy of P2 Energy Solutions, Tobin Aerial Archive, 1938)

The site’s history

Groups of hunter-gatherers first settled at Poverty Point in 1650 B.C.E. They would live here continuously for the next five hundred years, creating one of the most unusual cities of the ancient world: a densely populated, extensively developed settlement that lasted for five centuries without evidence of large-scale agriculture and with no evidence of an elite class. Said more plainly, this was an egalitarian hunter-gatherer community with a long-distance trade network that collectively and demonstrably shaped the land where its inhabitants lived. Amongst the most important imported objects that we find by the hundreds at Poverty Point are any kind of stone tool or ornament—from chert spear points to granite celts and slate bannerstones . Since no stone of any kind is local to this part of the lower Mississippi due to the force of the river that carved bayous into the land and would have worn away all lithic material well before it could travel into the region, all stone would have been brought into the city through trade. At its height, Poverty Point is estimated to have had a population of 9,000, a significant portion of which lived there year-round, with a varying influx of people who valued and contributed to the site’s construction and maintenance. They built these monuments within the rich alluvial floodplain of the lower Mississippi overlooking the meandering Bayou Maçon, a constant reliable source of freshwater, fish, and waterway transportation.

The six arched ridges imitate the natural arch of Bayou Maçon. Map of Poverty Point, Louisiana (underlying map © Google)

Six arched ridges

The earliest monuments built at Poverty Point were a flat-top pyramid and then two conical earthworks. Later, the inhabitants conceived and constructed the six concentric arched ridges, each originally six feet in height and three quarters of a mile long. They constructed these arched ridges as platforms where they placed hearths for cooking, leaving thousands of objects of daily life in surrounding middens . As a monumental public work, these arches are unique to the region; indeed, they are unique to all of North America.

The arched shape ridges radiate out from the narrow bottom edge of Mound A into what may have been used as a plaza-like space, leading scholars to speculate on whether Poverty Point may have been a pilgrimage site specifically structured to welcome large influxes of temporary inhabitants and visitors. The arrangement of the arches in evenly spaced rows align with the arc of the facing bayou, revealing the desire of the builders to actively engage with the topography of the land. To repeat the arc of the bayou in the shape of their manmade ridges visually and experientially established an ongoing conversation with the myriad bodies of water connected to the nearby Mississippi River. Compositionally, these six ridges were an extraordinary monumental public work collectively built that integrate the living presence of this ancient community within the landscape. This was not a wall to keep people out, but rather a set of arched ridges that linked a particular community to a particular landscape.

Topographical map of Mound A (photo: Diana Greenlee, University of Louisiana at Monroe)

Around 1300 B.C.E., 350 years after they began building at the site, the people of Poverty Point built their last and largest monument, now known as Mound A. Carefully placed in the center behind the arched ridges, Mound A is seventy-two feet high, 710 feet long, and 660 feet wide. At its widest it appears like a set of outstretched wings, narrowing to a point, like the beak of a bird flying west over the manmade arched ridges. It is a solid earthen structure that was built in three discernible stages. To build each stage from the base elevation up, they purposefully used three distinct kinds of soil. These soils are different in color and composition and may have been gathered and used at each stage for conceptual or structural purposes. The careful arrangement of these soils further reveals the highly organized and conscious nature of this construction. Since there was no evidence of weathering between the stages, they must have built this structure rapidly, perhaps in as little as three months, moving over fifteen million baskets of dirt to the site. There is also no evidence that they built any structure on top of Mound A or buried any individual inside. It stands as a monumental work made by and for those who chose to live here.

Stone spear tips found at Poverty Point (photo: Poverty Point World Heritage Site )

The egalitarian nature of life and the meaning or purpose of art at Poverty Point can also be seen in the even distribution of stones. 200 bowls carved out of soapstone imported from outcrops in Alabama and Tennessee were intentionally broken and ritually buried on the western periphery of the site, a location behind Mound A where the sun would set each day, suggesting an astronomical alignment. Imported stones found at the site were not the exclusive property of elites like we find at other ancient sites like Cahokia in Illinois or La Venta in Mexico; here at Poverty Point they are found in public spaces or evenly spread beneath the concentric ridges, along with baked clay forms for cooking.

An ancient society

When looked at closely and in comparison with other known ancient societies of the 1st and 2nd millennia B.C.E., such as the Olmec of Central Mexico, Poverty Point defies norms and expectations that link monumentality with elite patronage. At Poverty Point, people formed a settled society without agriculture. They built monumental architecture and earthworks without vast hierarchical divisions.

Given the importance of water for settled life in the ancient world, the settlement of Poverty Point begins with what is most conspicuously already there, that is, the Bayou Maçon itself. Together, the bayou and and natural elevation of its shoreline provided prolonged safe access to fresh water without the risk of flooding so common in the alluvial Mississippi Valley. The low, long, and arched ridges that the people of Poverty Point built are both large and inconspicuous at the same time. They are semicircular embankments built to complement daily life where people built their hearths and lived side by side. Conversely, Mound A slopes up symmetrically from behind the arched ridges into a mountainous earthen monument. On top of Mound A, the Archaic Indigenous people who lived here created for themselves an exceptional vantage point from which to look out over the arched ridges, to experience them as a visual echo of their immediate source of water. In this striking composition, manmade monuments were orchestrated to visually complement the natural contours of the land and its resources that supported them.

Map of Indigenous ancient architectural monuments (detail), Cyrus Thomas, “Distribution of Mounds in the Eastern United States,” Catalogue of Prehistoric Works East of the Rocky Mountains (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1891, plate 1)

The abandonment of the site

Approximately 150 years after the completion of Mound A, sometime between 1000 and 800 B.C.E., the people of Poverty Point abandoned the site. This occurred in a transitional period between the Late Archaic and Early Woodland Periods marked by radically increased periods of rain. And though there is no evidence that flooding occurred at Poverty Point, the rain would nevertheless have disrupted the influx of seasonal inhabitants and long-distance trade so important to the formation and maintenance of the city. Looking at Cyrus Thomas’ 1891 map of Indigenous ancient architectural monuments we can begin to see and imagine Poverty Point as one of thousands of places within the Mississippi and Ohio River Valleys where Native Americans made their homes and shaped the land.

[1] The very name “Poverty Point” tells us something of the site’s obscure modern history. In 1851 Philip Guier developed it into one of his southernmost plantations. Whereas plantations in the Middle Mississippi Valley, in states such as Tennessee or Kentucky, often had luscious names like Tulip Hill or His Lordship’s Kindness, those in the Lower Mississippi Valley, which were less reliable in the production of cotton, were often given pejorative names like Poverty Point or Hard Times Plantation. And while the archaeological site is currently a U.S. National Monument and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, recognized for its ancient monumental architecture, it is still known by a name that marks it as a low-yield pre-Civil War plantation.

Additional resources

The Poverty Point World Heritage Site

Anna Blume, “Ancient Architecture in the Mississippi Valley: Monumentality Seen and Unseen ,” RES Anthropology and Aesthetics , volumes 69–70 (2018), pp. 294–309.

Jenny Ellerbe and Diana M. Grennlee, Poverty Point: Revealing the Forgotten City (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2015).

David Graeber and David Wengrow, The Origin of Everything (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2021).

Tristam Kidder, “Poverty Point,” The Oxford Handbook of North American Archaeology , edited by Timothy R. Pauketat (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018), pp. 464–69.

R. Clark Mallam, “Ideology from the Earth: Effigy mounds in the Midwest,” Archaeology (1982), pp. 60–64.

Anthony L. Ortmann and Tristram R. Kidder, “Building Mound A at Poverty Point, Louisiana: Monumental Public Architecture, Ritual Practice, and Implications of  Hunter-Gatherer Complexity,” Geoarchaeology: An International Journal , volume 28 (2013), pp. 66–86.

Kenneth E. Sassaman, The Eastern Archaic Historicized (New York: Altamira, 2010).

Cyrus Thomas, Catalogue of Prehistoric Works East of the Rockies (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1891).

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Poverty Essay for Students and Children

500+ words essay on poverty essay.

“Poverty is the worst form of violence”. – Mahatma Gandhi.

How Poverty is Measured?

For measuring poverty United nations have devised two measures of poverty – Absolute & relative poverty.  Absolute poverty is used to measure poverty in developing countries like India. Relative poverty is used to measure poverty in developed countries like the USA. In absolute poverty, a line based on the minimum level of income has been created & is called a poverty line.  If per day income of a family is below this level, then it is poor or below the poverty line. If per day income of a family is above this level, then it is non-poor or above the poverty line. In India, the new poverty line is  Rs 32 in rural areas and Rs 47 in urban areas.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Causes of Poverty

According to the Noble prize winner South African leader, Nelson Mandela – “Poverty is not natural, it is manmade”. The above statement is true as the causes of poverty are generally man-made. There are various causes of poverty but the most important is population. Rising population is putting the burden on the resources & budget of countries. Governments are finding difficult to provide food, shelter & employment to the rising population.

The other causes are- lack of education, war, natural disaster, lack of employment, lack of infrastructure, political instability, etc. For instance- lack of employment opportunities makes a person jobless & he is not able to earn enough to fulfill the basic necessities of his family & becomes poor. Lack of education compels a person for less paying jobs & it makes him poorer. Lack of infrastructure means there are no industries, banks, etc. in a country resulting in lack of employment opportunities. Natural disasters like flood, earthquake also contribute to poverty.

In some countries, especially African countries like Somalia, a long period of civil war has made poverty widespread. This is because all the resources & money is being spent in war instead of public welfare. Countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, etc. are prone to natural disasters like cyclone, etc. These disasters occur every year causing poverty to rise.

Ill Effects of Poverty

Poverty affects the life of a poor family. A poor person is not able to take proper food & nutrition &his capacity to work reduces. Reduced capacity to work further reduces his income, making him poorer. Children from poor family never get proper schooling & proper nutrition. They have to work to support their family & this destroys their childhood. Some of them may also involve in crimes like theft, murder, robbery, etc. A poor person remains uneducated & is forced to live under unhygienic conditions in slums. There are no proper sanitation & drinking water facility in slums & he falls ill often &  his health deteriorates. A poor person generally dies an early death. So, all social evils are related to poverty.

Government Schemes to Remove Poverty

The government of India also took several measures to eradicate poverty from India. Some of them are – creating employment opportunities , controlling population, etc. In India, about 60% of the population is still dependent on agriculture for its livelihood. Government has taken certain measures to promote agriculture in India. The government constructed certain dams & canals in our country to provide easy availability of water for irrigation. Government has also taken steps for the cheap availability of seeds & farming equipment to promote agriculture. Government is also promoting farming of cash crops like cotton, instead of food crops. In cities, the government is promoting industrialization to create more jobs. Government has also opened  ‘Ration shops’. Other measures include providing free & compulsory education for children up to 14 years of age, scholarship to deserving students from a poor background, providing subsidized houses to poor people, etc.

Poverty is a social evil, we can also contribute to control it. For example- we can simply donate old clothes to poor people, we can also sponsor the education of a poor child or we can utilize our free time by teaching poor students. Remember before wasting food, somebody is still sleeping hungry.

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Why poverty is not a personal choice, but a reflection of society

Research Investigator of Psychiatry, Public Health, and Poverty Solutions, University of Michigan

Disclosure statement

Shervin Assari does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

University of Michigan provides funding as a founding partner of The Conversation US.

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As the Senate prepares to modify its version of the health care bill, now is a good time to back up and examine why we as a nation are so divided about providing health care, especially to the poor.

I believe one reason the United States is cutting spending on health insurance and safety nets that protect poor and marginalized people is because of American culture, which overemphasizes individual responsibility. Our culture does this to the point that it ignores the effect of root causes shaped by society and beyond the control of the individual. How laypeople define and attribute poverty may not be that much different from the way U.S. policymakers in the Senate see poverty.

As someone who studies poverty solutions and social and health inequalities, I am convinced by the academic literature that the biggest reason for poverty is how a society is structured. Without structural changes, it may be very difficult if not impossible to eliminate disparities and poverty.

Social structure

About 13.5 percent of Americans are living in poverty. Many of these people do not have insurance, and efforts to help them gain insurance, be it through Medicaid or private insurance, have been stymied. Medicaid provides insurance for the disabled, people in nursing homes and the poor.

Four states recently asked the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for permission to require Medicaid recipients in their states who are not disabled or elderly to work.

This request is reflective of the fact that many Americans believe that poverty is, by and large, the result of laziness , immorality and irresponsibility.

In fact, poverty and other social miseries are in large part due to social structure , which is how society functions at a macro level. Some societal issues, such as racism, sexism and segregation, constantly cause disparities in education, employment and income for marginalized groups. The majority group naturally has a head start, relative to groups that deal with a wide range of societal barriers on a daily basis. This is what I mean by structural causes of poverty and inequality.

Poverty: Not just a state of mind

We have all heard that the poor and minorities need only make better choices – work hard, stay in school, get married, do not have children before they can afford them. If they did all this, they wouldn’t be poor.

Just a few weeks ago, Housing Secretary Ben Carson called poverty “ a state of mind .” At the same time, his budget to help low-income households could be cut by more than US$6 billion next year.

This is an example of a simplistic view toward the complex social phenomenon. It is minimizing the impact of a societal issue caused by structure – macro‐level labor market and societal conditions – on individuals’ behavior. Such claims also ignore a large body of sociological science.

American independence

Americans have one of the most independent cultures on Earth. A majority of Americans define people in terms of internal attributes such as choices , abilities, values, preferences, decisions and traits.

This is very different from interdependent cultures , such as eastern Asian countries where people are seen mainly in terms of their environment, context and relationships with others.

A direct consequence of independent mindsets and cognitive models is that one may ignore all the historical and environmental conditions, such as slavery, segregation and discrimination against women, that contribute to certain outcomes. When we ignore the historical context, it is easier to instead attribute an unfavorable outcome, such as poverty, to the person.

Views shaped by politics

Many Americans view poverty as an individual phenomenon and say that it’s primarily their own fault that people are poor. The alternative view is that poverty is a structural phenomenon. From this viewpoint, people are in poverty because they find themselves in holes in the economic system that deliver them inadequate income.

The fact is that people move in and out of poverty. Research has shown that 45 percent of poverty spells last no more than a year, 70 percent last no more than three years and only 12 percent stretch beyond a decade.

The Panel Study of Income Dynamics ( PSID ), a 50-year longitudinal study of 18,000 Americans, has shown that around four in 10 adults experience an entire year of poverty from the ages of 25 to 60. The last Survey of Income and Program Participation ( SIPP ), a longitudinal survey conducted by the U.S. Census, had about one-third of Americans in episodic poverty at some point in a three-year period, but just 3.5 percent in episodic poverty for all three years.

Why calling the poor ‘lazy’ is victim blaming

If one believes that poverty is related to historical and environmental events and not just to an individual, we should be careful about blaming the poor for their fates.

Victim blaming occurs when the victim of a crime or any wrongful act is held entirely or partially responsible for the harm that befell them. It is a common psychological and societal phenomenon. Victimology has shown that humans have a tendency to perceive victims at least partially responsible . This is true even in rape cases, where there is a considerable tendency to blame victims and is true particularly if the victim and perpetrator know each other.

I believe all our lives could be improved if we considered the structural influences as root causes of social problems such as poverty and inequality. Perhaps then, we could more easily agree on solutions.

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Poverty Is a Choice

Extreme poverty has declined, but the line is very low.

We live in what often feels like a biblically terrible time, marked by mass extinctions, deep recessions, epidemics, climate emergencies, inequality, and forever wars. But one thing, at least, has gotten better. More than 1 billion people have escaped extreme poverty—so many, so fast, that the world might be able to declare, within a decade, the end of this most miserable form of deprivation. “The global poverty rate is now lower than it has ever been in recorded history,” Jim Yong Kim, a former president of the World Bank, recently argued . “This is one of the greatest human achievements of our time.”

Or perhaps not. In an acidic rebuke to world leaders, the outgoing United Nations special rapporteur on poverty and human rights, Philip Alston, argues that the effort to end global poverty has failed. More people live in deprivation now than two decades ago. “We squandered a decade in the fight against poverty, with misplaced triumphalism blocking the very reforms that could have prevented the worst impacts of the pandemic,” Alston wrote in his last report .

So who’s right: Alston or Kim? The pessimistic argument is a hard one to make when looking at the raw, headline numbers. The global extreme-poverty rate fell from 36 percent in 1990 to 10 percent in 2015; the number of poor people dropped from 2 billion to 700 million. But Alston believes that by focusing only on those numbers, the world is deluding itself.

Read: A moral case for giving people money

The divisions between the World Bank’s economists and the UN’s special rapporteur are in some sense technical, about where to set the poverty line. They are in a more important sense interpretive, about whether progress has been fast or slow, and whether today’s global poverty counts are laudable or tragic.

This is a realm of yes-and s and no-but s, not direct refutations. Extreme poverty has declined rapidly, but the extreme-poverty line is very low: A person living below it spends no more than $1.90 a day, enough in many poor countries to cover some starch, a few fruits and vegetables, some cooking oil, a bit of protein, and that’s about it—with nothing left over for utilities, education, health care, transportation, or investment in wealth-generating assets, such as a cow or a motorbike. That poverty threshold represents “a staggeringly low standard of living, well below any reasonable conception of a life with dignity,” Alston argues—it is a catastrophic-destitution measure, not a poverty measure. He emphasizes the lack of progress made at the $3.20-a-day and $5.50-a-day poverty lines, too. Half the world lives on less than the latter figure.

Alston takes issue with the fact that the World Bank’s extreme-poverty line is an absolute measure, not a relative one: It sets a line and sees how many people cross it, country by country, rather than pegging the poverty threshold to median income, country by country. But “relative poverty is what really counts these days,” Alston told me, as it captures social exclusion, and the way that living on a few dollars a day is more challenging in middle-income countries like India and Kenya than in low-income countries like Afghanistan and Chad. “In a poorer country,” the bank itself explains , “participating in the job market may require only clothing and food, whereas someone in a richer society may also need access to the internet, transportation, and a cell phone.”

The bank also acknowledges that the global extreme-poverty line is low. It has generated a measure that includes relative poverty, and produces counts at the $3.20-a-day and $5.50-a-day lines. Its economists, researchers, and program experts stress that rising above the extreme-poverty line is no guarantee against malnutrition, stunted growth, early death, or any of the other horrible consequences of destitution.

But Alston’s most controversial, and most important, argument is that the focus on progress measured against the $1.90-a-day line—the prevalence of “everything’s getting better” arguments, made by Davos types like Bill Gates and Steven Pinker —has hampered progress toward true poverty eradication, and toward civil rights, social inclusion, and a basic standard of living for all. “By being able to rely so heavily on the World Bank's flagship figure, they can say, ‘Look, progress has been consistent. We’ve been doing great,’” Alston told me. “The implication of that is that the triumph of neoliberalism has brought with it very significant benefits for poor people. In reality, that’s just not the case.”

Read: How many people in the world are actually poor?

What if world leaders and multilateral institutions focused on the $5.50 line, or measures of poverty that capture social exclusion and relative deprivation? What if the headline story were that half the world still qualifies as desperately poor, and poverty head counts remain stubbornly high in dozens of countries? What if the story were not that we are succeeding, but that we are failing?

That story would not capture all the good that has happened in terms of infant-mortality rates falling, school-enrollment numbers rising, and malnutrition fading. But it would hold the world accountable for the fact that poverty is, always and everywhere, a choice. Alston’s view, and a necessary one, is that the world cannot wait for economic expansion to lift people above the poverty line. It cannot count on trade compacts and infrastructure projects and the ticking of GDP growth rates from 2.3 to 3.2 percent to do it. It needs direct interventions by governments, as fast as possible, to eliminate inequality and build safety nets, even in the poorest places.

7 Essays About Poverty: Example Essays and Prompts

Essays about poverty give valuable insight into the economic situation that we share globally. Read our guide with poverty essay examples and prompts for your paper.

In the US, the official poverty rate in 2022 was 11.5 percent, with 37.9 million people living below the poverty line. With a global pandemic, cost of living crisis, and climate change on the rise, we’ve seen poverty increase due to various factors. As many of us face adversity daily, we can look to essays about poverty from some of the world’s greatest speakers for inspiration and guidance.

There is nothing but a lack of social vision to prevent us from paying an adequate wage to every American citizen whether he be a hospital worker, laundry worker, maid or day laborer. There is nothing except shortsightedness to prevent us from guaranteeing an annual minimum—and livable—income for every American family. Martin Luther King Jr., Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?

Writing a poverty essay can be challenging due to the many factors contributing to poverty and the knock-on effects of living below the poverty line . For example, homelessness among low-income individuals stems from many different causes.

It’s important to note that poverty exists beyond the US, with many developing countries living in extreme poverty without access to essentials like clean water and housing. For help with your essays, check out our round-up of the best essay checkers .

Essays About Poverty: Top Examples

1. pensioner poverty: fear of rise over decades as uk under-40s wealth falls, 2. the surprising poverty levels across the u.s., 3. why poverty persists in america, 4. post-pandemic poverty is rising in america’s suburbs.

• 5. The Basic Facts About Children in Poverty
• 6. The State of America’s Children 
• 7. COVID-19: This is how many Americans now live below the poverty line

10 Poverty Essay Topics

1. the causes of poverty, 2. the negative effects of poverty, 3. how countries can reduce poverty rates, 4. the basic necessities and poverty, 5. how disabilities can lead to poverty, 6. how the cycle of poverty unfolds , 7. universal basic income and its relationship to poverty, 8. interview someone who has experience living in poverty, 9. the impact of the criminal justice system on poverty, 10. the different ways to create affordable housing.

There is growing concern about increasing pensioner poverty in the UK in the coming decades. Due to financial challenges like the cost of living crisis, rent increases, and the COVID-19 pandemic, under 40s have seen their finances shrink.

Osborne discusses the housing wealth gap in this article, where many under the 40s currently pay less in a pension due to rent prices. While this means they will have less pension available, they will also retire without owning a home, resulting in less personal wealth than previous generations. Osborne delves into the causes and gaps in wealth between generations in this in-depth essay.

“Those under-40s have already been identified as  facing the biggest hit from rising mortgage rates , and last week a study by the financial advice firm Hargreaves Lansdown found that almost a third of 18- to 34-year-olds had stopped or cut back on their pension contributions in order to save money.” Hilary Osborne,  The Guardian

In this 2023 essay, Jeremy Ney looks at the poverty levels across the US, stating that poverty has had the largest one-year increase in history. According to the most recent census, child poverty has more than doubled from 2021 to 2022.

Ney states that the expiration of government support and inflation has created new financial challenges for US families. With the increased cost of living and essential items like food and housing sharply increasing, more and more families have fallen below the poverty line. Throughout this essay, Ney displays statistics and data showing the wealth changes across states, ethnic groups, and households.

“Poverty in America reflects the inequality that plagues U.S. households. While certain regions have endured this pain much more than others, this new rising trend may spell ongoing challenges for even more communities.” Jeremy Ney,  TIME

In this New York Times article, a Pulitzer Prize-winning sociologist explores why poverty exists in North America.

The American poor have access to cheap, mass-produced goods, as every American does. But that doesn’t mean they can access what matters most. Matthew Desmond,  The New York Times

The U.S. Census Bureau recently released its annual data on poverty, revealing contrasting trends for 2022. While one set of findings indicated that the overall number of Americans living in poverty remained stable compared to the previous two years, another survey highlighted a concerning increase in child poverty. The rate of child poverty in the U.S. doubled from 2021 to 2022, a spike attributed mainly to the cessation of the expanded child tax credit following the pandemic. These varied outcomes underscore the Census Bureau’s multifaceted methods to measure poverty.

“The nation’s suburbs accounted for the majority of increases in the poor population following the onset of the pandemic” Elizabeth Kneebone and Alan Berube,  Brookings

5.  The Basic Facts About Children in Poverty

Nearly 11 million children are living in poverty in America. This essay explores ow the crisis reached this point—and what steps must be taken to solve it.

“In America, nearly 11 million children are poor. That’s 1 in 7 kids, who make up almost one-third of all people living in poverty in this country.” Areeba Haider,  Center for American Progress

6.  The State of America’s Children  

This essay articles how, despite advancements, children continue to be the most impoverished demographic in the U.S., with particular subgroups — such as children of color, those under five, offspring of single mothers, and children residing in the South — facing the most severe poverty levels.

“Growing up in poverty has wide-ranging, sometimes lifelong, effects on children, putting them at a much higher risk of experiencing behavioral, social, emotional, and health challenges. Childhood poverty also plays an instrumental role in impairing a child’s ability and capacity to learn, build skills, and succeed academically.” Children’s Defense Fund

7.  COVID-19: This is how many Americans now live below the poverty line

This essay explores how the economic repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic 2020 led to a surge in U.S. poverty rates, with unemployment figures reaching unprecedented heights. The writer provides data confirming that individuals at the lowest economic strata bore the brunt of these challenges, indicating that the recession might have exacerbated income disparities, further widening the chasm between the affluent and the underprivileged.

“Poverty in the U.S. increased in 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic hammered the economy and unemployment soared. Those at the bottom of the economic ladder were hit hardest, new figures confirm, suggesting that the recession may have widened the gap between the rich and the poor.” Elena Delavega,  World Econmic Forum

If you’re tasked with writing an essay about poverty, consider using the below topics. They offer pointers for outlining and planning an essay about this challenging topic.

One of the most specific poverty essay topics to address involves the causes of poverty. You can craft an essay to examine the most common causes of extreme poverty. Here are a few topics you might want to include:

• Racial discrimination, particularly among African Americans, has been a common cause of poverty throughout American history. Discrimination and racism can make it hard for people to get the education they need, making it nearly impossible to get a job.
• A lack of access to adequate health care can also lead to poverty. When people do not have access to healthcare, they are more likely to get sick. This could make it hard for them to go to work while also leading to major medical bills.
• Inadequate food and water can lead to poverty as well. If people’s basic needs aren’t met, they focus on finding food and water instead of getting an education they can use to find a better job.

These are just a few of the most common causes of poverty you might want to highlight in your essay. These topics could help people see why some people are more likely to become impoverished than others. You might also be interested in these essays about poverty .

Poverty affects everyone, and the impacts of an impoverished lifestyle are very real. Furthermore, the disparities when comparing adult poverty to child poverty are also significant. This opens the doors to multiple possible essay topics. Here are a few points to include:

• When children live in poverty, their development is stunted. For example, they might not be able to get to school on time due to a lack of transportation, making it hard for them to keep up with their peers. Child poverty also leads to malnutrition, which can stunt their development.
• Poverty can impact familial relationships as well. For example, members of the same family could fight for limited resources, making it hard for family members to bond. In addition, malnutrition can stunt the growth of children.
• As a side effect of poverty, people have difficulty finding a safe place to live. This creates a challenging environment for everyone involved, and it is even harder for children to grow and develop.
• When poverty leads to homelessness, it is hard for someone to get a job. They don’t have an address to use for physical communication, which leads to employment concerns.

These are just a few of the many side effects of poverty. Of course, these impacts are felt by people across the board, but it is not unusual for children to feel the effects of poverty that much more. You might also be interested in these essays about unemployment .

Different countries take different approaches to reduce the number of people living in poverty

The issue of poverty is a major human rights concern, and many countries explore poverty reduction strategies to improve people’s quality of life. You might want to examine different strategies that different countries are taking while also suggesting how some countries can do more. A few ways to write this essay include:

• Explore the poverty level in America, comparing it to the poverty level of a European country. Then, explore why different countries take different strategies.
• Compare the minimum wage in one state, such as New York, to the minimum wage in another state, such as Alabama. Why is it higher in one state? What does raising the minimum wage do to the cost of living?
• Highlight a few advocacy groups and nonprofit organizations actively lobbying their governments to do more for low-income families. Then, talk about why some efforts are more successful than others.

Different countries take different approaches to reduce the number of people living in poverty. Poverty within each country is such a broad topic that you could write a different essay on how poverty could be decreased within the country. For more, check out our list of simple essays topics for intermediate writers .

You could also write an essay on the necessities people need to survive. You could take a look at information published by the United Nations , which focuses on getting people out of the cycle of poverty across the globe. The social problem of poverty can be addressed by giving people the necessities they need to survive, particularly in rural areas. Here are some of the areas you might want to include:

• Affordable housing
• Fresh, healthy food and clean water
• Access to an affordable education
• Access to affordable healthcare

Giving everyone these necessities could significantly improve their well-being and get people out of absolute poverty. You might even want to talk about whether these necessities vary depending on where someone is living.

There are a lot of medical and social issues that contribute to poverty, and you could write about how disabilities contribute to poverty. This is one of the most important essay topics because people could be disabled through no fault of their own. Some of the issues you might want to address in this essay include:

• Talk about the road someone faces if they become disabled while serving overseas. What is it like for people to apply for benefits through the Veterans’ Administration?
• Discuss what happens if someone becomes disabled while at work. What is it like for someone to pursue disability benefits if they are hurt doing a blue-collar job instead of a desk job?
• Research and discuss the experiences of disabled people and how their disability impacts their financial situation.

People who are disabled need to have money to survive for many reasons, such as the inability to work, limitations at home, and medical expenses. A lack of money, in this situation, can lead to a dangerous cycle that can make it hard for someone to be financially stable and live a comfortable lifestyle.

Many people talk about the cycle of poverty, yet many aren’t entirely sure what this means or what it entails. A few key points you should address in this essay include:

• When someone is born into poverty, income inequality can make it hard to get an education.
• A lack of education makes it hard for someone to get into a good school, which gives them the foundation they need to compete for a good job. 
• A lack of money can make it hard for someone to afford college, even if they get into a good school.
• Without attending a good college, it can be hard for someone to get a good job. This makes it hard for someone to support themselves or their families. 
• Without a good paycheck, it is nearly impossible for someone to keep their children out of poverty, limiting upward mobility into the middle class.

The problem of poverty is a positive feedback loop. It can be nearly impossible for those who live this every day to escape. Therefore, you might want to explore a few initiatives that could break the cycle of world poverty and explore other measures that could break this feedback loop.

Many business people and politicians have floated the idea of a universal basic income to give people the basic resources they need to survive. While this hasn’t gotten a lot of serious traction, you could write an essay to shed light on this idea. A few points to hit on include:

• What does a universal basic income mean, and how is it distributed?
• Some people are concerned about the impact this would have on taxes. How would this be paid for?
• What is the minimum amount of money someone would need to stay out of poverty? Is it different in different areas?
• What are a few of the biggest reasons major world governments haven’t passed this?

This is one of the best essay examples because it gives you a lot of room to be creative. However, there hasn’t been a concrete structure for implementing this plan, so you might want to afford one.

Another interesting topic you might want to explore is interviewing someone living in poverty or who has been impoverished. While you can talk about statistics all day, they won’t be as powerful as interviewing someone who has lived that life. A few questions you might want to ask during your interview include:

• What was it like growing up?
• How has living in poverty made it hard for you to get a job?
• What do you feel people misunderstand about those who live in poverty?
• When you need to find a meal, do you have a place you go to? Or is it somewhere different every day?
• What do you think is the main contributor to people living in poverty?

Remember that you can also craft different questions depending on your responses. You might want to let the interviewee read the essay when you are done to ensure all the information is accurate and correct.

The criminal justice system and poverty tend to go hand in hand. People with criminal records are more likely to be impoverished for several reasons. You might want to write an essay that hits on some of these points:

• Discuss the discriminatory practices of the criminal justice system both as they relate to socioeconomic status and as they relate to race.
• Explore just how hard it is for someone to get a job if they have a criminal record. Discuss how this might contribute to a life of poverty.
• Dive into how this creates a positive feedback loop. For example, when someone cannot get a job due to a criminal record, they might have to steal to survive, which worsens the issue.
• Review what the criminal justice system might be like for someone with resources when compared to someone who cannot afford to hire expert witnesses or pay for a good attorney.

You might want to include a few examples of disparate sentences for people in different socioeconomic situations to back up your points. 

Affordable housing can make a major difference when someone is trying to escape poverty

Many poverty-related problems could be reduced if people had access to affordable housing. While the cost of housing has increased dramatically in the United States , some initiatives exist to create affordable housing. Here are a few points to include:

• Talk about public programs that offer affordable housing to people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
• Discuss private programs, such as Habitat for Humanity , doing similar things.
• Review the positive impacts that stable housing has on both adults and children.
• Dive into other measures local and federal governments could take to provide more affordable housing for people.

There are a lot of political and social angles to address with this essay, so you might want to consider spreading this out across multiple papers. Affordable housing can make a major difference when trying to escape poverty. If you want to learn more, check out our essay writing tips !

Meet Rachael, the editor at Become a Writer Today. With years of experience in the field, she is passionate about language and dedicated to producing high-quality content that engages and informs readers. When she's not editing or writing, you can find her exploring the great outdoors, finding inspiration for her next project.

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5 Essays About Poverty Everyone Should Know

Poverty is one of the driving forces of inequality in the world. Between 1990-2015, much progress was made. The number of people living on less than $1.90 went from 36% to 10%. However, according to the World Bank , the COVID-19 pandemic represents a serious problem that disproportionately impacts the poor. Research released in February of 2020 shows that by 2030, up to ⅔ of the “global extreme poor” will be living in conflict-affected and fragile economies. Poverty will remain a major human rights issue for decades to come. Here are five essays about the issue that everyone should know:

“We need an economic bill of rights” –  Martin Luther King Jr.

The Guardian published an abridged version of this essay in 2018, which was originally released in Look magazine just after Dr. King was killed. In this piece, Dr. King explains why an economic bill of rights is necessary. He points out that while mass unemployment within the black community is a “social problem,” it’s a “depression” in the white community. An economic bill of rights would give a job to everyone who wants one and who can work. It would also give an income to those who can’t work. Dr. King affirms his commitment to non-violence. He’s fully aware that tensions are high. He quotes a spiritual, writing “timing is winding up.” Even while the nation progresses, poverty is getting worse.

This essay was reprinted and abridged in The Guardian in an arrangement with The Heirs to the Estate of Martin Luther King. Jr. The most visible representative of the Civil Rights Movement beginning in 1955, Dr. King was assassinated in 1968. His essays and speeches remain timely.

“How Poverty Can Follow Children Into Adulthood” – Priyanka Boghani

This article is from 2017, but it’s more relevant than ever because it was written when 2012 was the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. That’s no longer the case. In 2012, around ¼ American children were in poverty. Five years later, children were still more likely than adults to be poor. This is especially true for children of colour. Consequences of poverty include anxiety, hunger, and homelessness. This essay also looks at the long-term consequences that come from growing up in poverty. A child can develop health problems that affect them in adulthood. Poverty can also harm a child’s brain development. Being aware of how poverty affects children and follows them into adulthood is essential as the world deals with the economic fallout from the pandemic.

Priyanka Boghani is a journalist at PBS Frontline. She focuses on U.S. foreign policy, humanitarian crises, and conflicts in the Middle East. She also assists in managing Frontline’s social accounts.

“5 Reasons COVID-19 Will Impact the Fight to End Extreme Poverty” – Leah Rodriguez

For decades, the UN has attempted to end extreme poverty. In the face of the novel coronavirus outbreak, new challenges threaten the fight against poverty. In this essay, Dr. Natalie Linos, a Harvard social epidemiologist, urges the world to have a “social conversation” about how the disease impacts poverty and inequality. If nothing is done, it’s unlikely that the UN will meet its Global Goals by 2030. Poverty and COVID-19 intersect in five key ways. For one, low-income people are more vulnerable to disease. They also don’t have equal access to healthcare or job stability. This piece provides a clear, concise summary of why this outbreak is especially concerning for the global poor.

Leah Rodriguez’s writing at Global Citizen focuses on women, girls, water, and sanitation. She’s also worked as a web producer and homepage editor for New York Magazine’s The Cut.

“Climate apartheid”: World’s poor to suffer most from disasters” – Al Jazeera and news Agencies

The consequences of climate change are well-known to experts like Philip Alston, the special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights. In 2019, he submitted a report to the UN Human Rights Council sounding the alarm on how climate change will devastate the poor. While the wealthy will be able to pay their way out of devastation, the poor will not. This will end up creating a “climate apartheid.” Alston states that if climate change isn’t addressed, it will undo the last five decades of progress in poverty education, as well as global health and development .

“Nickel and Dimed: On (not) getting by in America” – Barbara Ehrenreich

In this excerpt from her book Nickel and Dimed, Ehrenreich describes her experience choosing to live undercover as an “unskilled worker” in the US. She wanted to investigate the impact the 1996 welfare reform act had on the working poor. Released in 2001, the events take place between the spring of 1998 and the summer of 2000. Ehrenreich decided to live in a town close to her “real life” and finds a place to live and a job. She has her eyes opened to the challenges and “special costs” of being poor. In 2019, The Guardian ranked the book 13th on their list of 100 best books of the 21st century.

Barbara Ehrenreich is the author of 21 books and an activist. She’s worked as an award-winning columnist and essayist.

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About the author, emmaline soken-huberty.

Emmaline Soken-Huberty is a freelance writer based in Portland, Oregon. She started to become interested in human rights while attending college, eventually getting a concentration in human rights and humanitarianism. LGBTQ+ rights, women’s rights, and climate change are of special concern to her. In her spare time, she can be found reading or enjoying Oregon’s natural beauty with her husband and dog.

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1 (page 1) p. 1 Introduction

• Published: July 2018
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Poverty is a global issue. There are people in every country with a standard of living that is significantly lower than that of others. Nevertheless, the absolute number of people living in poverty has decreased since 1990, especially in the poorest countries in the world. Therefore, there is reason to hope that further poverty reduction can occur. The Introduction outlines the pervasiveness and trends in poverty around the world; the many different causes of poverty that embed themselves in social, political, economic, educational, and technological processes, which affect all of us from birth to death; and considers why poverty matters. Overall, the economy suffers if systematic public policy does not address poverty.

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Point of View—Poverty is a Choice

Diane Yentel, NLIHC President & CEO

Last week, a report from the White House Council of Economic Advisors absurdly stated that the country’s war on poverty is “largely over and a success.”  The unfortunate result of that success, according to the report’s authors, is lessened “self-sufficiency” and an increased “dependency” on federal assistance. These statements are as gallingly untrue as Ambassador Nikki Haley’s recent assertion that fewer than 250,000 people in the United States live in severe poverty (when twice that number are literally without homes, and many of them without basic shelter, on any given night). Together with Secretary Carson’s past statements that “poverty is, in large part, a state of mind” and “really more of a choice than anything else,” these statements crystalize the administration’s view of the over 11 million extremely low income American households: they just aren’t trying hard enough.

More people live in severe poverty in the United States today than at any time in the last 20 years. Over 30 million Americans have no health care. Twenty-five percent of children in the United States live in poverty, the highest rate in the developed world. One in five children lives without consistent access to food. Three in four of the lowest income families in need of and eligible for housing assistance receives none - they wait years or decades in hopes of winning our country’s housing lottery. Nearly eight million extremely low income renters pay more than half of their income on rent. They are one financial emergency - a broken down car, a missed day of work, or a sick child - away from eviction and possible homelessness.

The affordable housing crisis - both a cause and a result of poverty - has reached historic heights. Today just three affordable and available homes exist for every ten of the poorest people. In some communities, homelessness is increasing for the first time in years, and as a result more cities along the West Coast and beyond have declared states of emergency. Tent cities housing hundreds of people, including children, have become more common sights. Last year, a record number of people died on the streets in cities like Los Angeles, Nashville and Baltimore.

Despite all this, the Trump administration uses faulty analysis, cherry-picked data and old stereotypes to propose taking basic assistance for housing, food and health care away from people who cannot meet harsh new work requirements. HUD Secretary Carson has done his part in advancing this harmful ideology by proposing rent hikes and work requirements for the lowest income Americans receiving housing assistance. We must continue to challenge the distortions of truth and faulty logic within these proposals, even as Secretary Carson publicly contradicts himself on whether or not he supports and will work to advance them.

Carson’s claims that raising rents and imposing rigid work requirements will somehow increase “self-sufficiency” are wrong. The vast majority of households receiving housing benefits are elderly, disabled, providing full-time care for another family member, or are working for low wages that are insufficient to cover their housing costs. The problem is not that low income people aren’t working hard enough - the problem is that many jobs do not pay enough for low income people to afford the rent.

This will be an issue for the foreseeable future. Seven out of the ten of jobs projected by the Department of Labor to have the greatest growth over the next decade pay less than is necessary to afford a basic one-bedroom apartment. Work requirements do not create jobs that pay high enough wages or provide sufficiently predictable hours to lift families out of poverty. Instead, such requirements threaten to cut individuals off from the very housing benefits and services that make it possible for them to find and keep jobs.

The administration says housing and other basic-needs assistance programs perpetuate “dependence.” HUD’s own data belie this myth. The typical household receiving HUD rental assistance leaves assisted housing after about six years. Working-age, non-disabled households receive housing assistance for less time; they typically leave housing assistance in less than three years. Seniors tend to stay longer, for about nine years; nonelderly families with children stay for only about four years. Roughly half of all assisted tenants leave within four to six years of first receiving assistance, and more than three quarters leave after about ten years. What dependence, exactly, is the administration looking to correct?

Deep poverty exists in our country, and it is indeed a choice – not by the people experiencing it, but by the political leaders who tolerate or exacerbate it through harmful public policy. We don’t lack the resources or the solutions to end poverty in our country; we lack political will and courage. Spreading stereotypes, dismissing facts and blaming people for being poor are easy and cheap. We need political leaders who are instead willing to skip the platitudes, recognize deep poverty as an economic condition created by low wages, high costs, a shredded social safety net and harmful public policies that exacerbate income inequality, and do the hard work of funding real solutions at the scale necessary. Only then will we be able to call efforts to end poverty a success.

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Concept of Poverty Definition Essay

Introduction, poverty as a measure of low income, the “basic needs” approach, poverty as an inescapable political act, the freedoms approach, poverty as the lack of wealth, how to measure poverty.

Poverty is a widely useful and common concept in many spheres of socioeconomic development. Albeit a universal concept, many people have different conceptions of the term. In fact, Misturelli and Heffernan (2010) say the concept has different clusters of meanings and definitions.

Other researchers believe the evolving nature of poverty contributes to its varied meanings. The discourse analysis of Misturelli and Heffernan (2010) was among the first research studies to document how the evolving nature of poverty gave it different meanings and definitions. Pantazis, Gordon and Levitas (2006) take a pragmatic construction of this argument by arguing that most people cannot define poverty in any way that they like.

The discourse, or subject areas, of these meanings provide the differences. This paper builds on these arguments by reviewing different conceptions of the term.

Since the 1880s, researchers have come up with three main conceptions of the term – “subsistence, basic needs and relative deprivation” (Talbot, Madanipour & Shucksmith 2013). Pantazis, Gordon and Levitas (2006) use the first criterion to define poverty by saying that it is “The Lack of income, access to good quality health, education and housing, and the exposure to poor quality living environments” (p. 30).

They say these attributes affect people’s well-being. In line with the same understanding, Pantazis, Gordon and Levitas (2006) say low income is an important component of poverty because it affects people’s well-being as well. Here, it is important to understand that short spells of low incomes do not necessarily affect people’s well-being.

However, long spells of low incomes are bound to have the reverse effect (ill-being). Although this discussion does not directly contribute to our understanding of poverty, it helps us to understand the views of other researchers who group low-income people as “poverty-stricken” people (Pantazis, Gordon & Levitas 2006).

This is false. In fact, unless the low income has a negative effect on the people affected, it is incorrect to equate low income with poverty. Nonetheless, this is one perception that outlines people’s understanding of the term.

Booth and Rowntree (cited in Pantazis, Gordon & Levitas 2006) are among the first researchers to explore the concept of poverty. They did so by studying the concept in the context of early 19 th century England.

Here, they opposed the commonly held belief that poverty meant the lack of financial resources (only). Instead, they expanded this understanding by saying that poor health, housing, and the lack of education (among other socioeconomic variables) also defined poverty (Pantazis, Gordon & Levitas 2006).

The United Nations (UN) also adopts a similar understanding of poverty by saying that the concept is “a condition characterised by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information” (United Nations Development Programme 2006, p. 5).

The main difference between this definition and other definitions of poverty highlighted in this paper is the broad understanding of the concept. Stated differently, other researchers use a narrow definition of socioeconomic factors (such as the lack of income) to define poverty, while the basic needs approach constructs poverty through a wider realm of factors that affect human well-being.

Many researchers have often explored the relationship between poverty and politics (United Nations Development Programme 2006). Most of them say that poverty is an inescapably political act. Global institutions, such as the UN, also hold the same view.

For example, the UN has often argued that poverty rarely exists in “politically mature” democracies (such as Europe) (United Nations Development Programme 2006). Conversely, they argue that poor countries, which do not have “politically mature” democracies, report the highest levels of poverty.

This argument further stretches to social and political structures. For example, many researchers believe that poverty is a product of extreme capitalistic societies (Talbot, Madanipour & Shucksmith 2013). This view closely aligns with the Marxist school of thought, but the United Nations Development Programme (2006) defines it as the Anglo-Saxon preoccupation.

Proponents of such views say that capitalistic structures create significant wage differentials that limit people’s growth opportunities (Talbot, Madanipour & Shucksmith 2013). Therefore, people who are born in poverty find it difficult to escape this cycle because of structural limitations (caused by capitalistic systems).

The United Nations Development Programme (2006) expounds on this analysis by saying that political structures (representative of capitalistic societies) need an “industrial reserve army,” which owners of factors of production can use and dispose at their will. Since researchers have different reservations regarding the factuality of this view, its proponents argue that political structures created poverty by relating it to income (Talbot, Madanipour & Shucksmith 2013).

They also say that although poverty existed before the creation of these capitalistic structures, it was mainly limited to life-cycle changes (such as elderly people experiencing the highest rates of poverty) (United Nations Development Programme 2006).

Understanding poverty through people’s ability to live freely and valuable lives emerged from critiques of the income approach to poverty. Its proponents believed that reducing poverty to income deprivation was a shallow understanding of the concept (United Nations Development Programme 2006). Instead, they argued that poverty was a broad concept that included people’s liberties and their enjoyment of the same.

For example, the Sen’s capability approach uses the same premise to define poverty (United Nations Development Programme 2006). The UN has also used this approach to construct the human development index (United Nations Development Programme 2006).

This approach rejects income deprivation as the main proxy for understanding poverty. Comparatively, it proposes an alternative approach of constructing poverty as the deprivation of the freedom to live a valuable life.

Researchers have defined poverty as the lack of wealth (or little wealth). Proponents of this view also define poverty as the inability to consume goods and services (low purchasing power) (Misturelli & Heffernan 2010). Additionally, this definition also includes no (or poor) access to quality services.

The subsistence conception of poverty emerged from Victorian England when nutritionists defined poverty as people’s inability to have an income that could maintain their physical health (United Nations Development Programme 2006). Although people had other needs, such as shelter and clothing, subsistence was the main proxy for defining poverty.

The United Nations Development Programme (2006) says, although this understanding is old, it has influenced scientific dogma for more than ten decades. For example, statistical figures used to describe the social conditions of different countries have often used subsistence measures to do so.

International agencies still use the same measure today. Past British territories used the same measure to rule their colonies. For example, former British authorities used the measure to determine the wages of black people in South Africa (during the apartheid era). They also used the same model to frame development plans in Asian colonies (United Nations Development Programme 2006).

Poverty measurement metrics mainly depend on the multiple definitions of the concept. Furthermore, different countries have varying measurements of the concept. For example, some European countries measure poverty by evaluating national statistics regarding the number of people who apply for social welfare support (United Nations Development Programme 2006).

Most of these measurement metrics relate to the construction of poverty as a lack of income. For example, Talbot, Madanipour & Shucksmith (2013) say many European countries use income metrics to define at-risk-populations of poverty. Others define poverty-stricken people as those that earn less than 60% of the national median of disposable income (Talbot, Madanipour & Shucksmith 2013).

Other measures of poverty align with the “basic needs” approach of poverty. However, this analysis is contextual because different parts of the world have different types of basic needs. For example, Europeans may define their basic needs as an annual holiday, quality food, and adequate housing (among other factors) (Vecernik 2004).

Therefore, here, it is difficult to define relative poverty as merely lacking enough resources to survive. In this regard, relative measurements make it difficult for statisticians to compare the rate of poverty across different regions.

This paper shows that most definitions of poverty align with the “resource view” (gaining access to resources, or lacking them). This paper has also shown that some researchers define poverty as an inescapable political act. Although mature democracies have low levels of poverty, it is misleading to argue that such democracies do not suffer from poverty at all.

Furthermore, these countries still grapple with inequality challenges, despite their low levels of poverty. In fact, these countries use a relative definition of poverty (Talbot, Madanipour & Shucksmith 2013). An interesting finding about this analysis is that most professionals (“non-poor” people) developed most of the definitions of poverty outlined in this paper. In other words, their definitions of poverty are expressions of their training and educational skills.

In fact, such definitions reflect the power of development professionals to define poverty based on their perceptions. This is an unfair representation of the concept because poor people should have the power to define it.

Based on the findings of this paper, safely, one could say that the definition of poverty depends on who is asking, how people understand it, and the type of audience. However, income is at the centre of the definition because, historically, people have used it to define the concept.

However, based on the varied views and constructs of poverty, and its relation to income, the latter is no less problematic than the concept of poverty itself. Nonetheless, based on an overall assessment of the findings of this paper, correctly, one could say that poverty affects income-deprived people who are unable to gain access to quality life determinants, such as quality food and shelter.

Therefore, a correct (or informed) understanding of poverty cannot merely depend on an abstract understanding of low income as the main proxy. Therefore, to understand the real measurement, or definition, of income, it is crucial to identify a specific income level, beyond which people experience deprivation.

Misturelli, F & Heffernan, C 2010, ‘The concept of poverty a synchronic perspective’, Progress in Development Studies, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 35-58.

Pantazis, C, Gordon, D & Levitas, R 2006, Poverty and Social Exclusion in Britain , The Policy Press, Bristol.

Talbot, H, Madanipour, A & Shucksmith, M 2013, The Territorial Dimension of Poverty and Social Exclusion in Europe, University of Newcastle, New Castle.

United Nations Development Programme 2006, Poverty in Focus , < https://ipcig.org/pub/IPCPovertyInFocus9.pdf >.

Vecernik, J 2004, ‘Who Is Poor in the Czech Republic? The Changing Structure and Faces of Poverty after 1989’, Czech Sociological Review , vol. 40, no. 6, pp. 807–834.

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IvyPanda. (2023, December 16). Concept of Poverty. https://ivypanda.com/essays/concept-of-poverty/

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IvyPanda . (2023) 'Concept of Poverty'. 16 December.

IvyPanda . 2023. "Concept of Poverty." December 16, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/concept-of-poverty/.

1. IvyPanda . "Concept of Poverty." December 16, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/concept-of-poverty/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Concept of Poverty." December 16, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/concept-of-poverty/.

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Essay on Poverty: Samples in 100, 200, 300 Words

• Updated on  
• Oct 14, 2023

Poverty is a deep-rooted problem that continues to affect a large portion of the world’s population today. It touches on several aspects of human life including but not limited to political, economic, and social elements. Even though there are several methods to escape poverty, still issues arise due to a lack of adequate unity among the country’s citizens. Here are some essays on poverty which will give you insights about this topic.

This Blog Includes:

Essay on poverty in 100 words, essay on poverty in 200 words, reasons behind poverty, world poverty conditions, role of ngos to eradicate poverty, what can be done by us.

Poverty is defined as a state of scarcity, and the lack of material possessions to such an extreme extent that people have difficulties in fulfilling their basic needs. Robert McNamara, a former World Bank President, states that extreme poverty is limited by illiteracy, malnutrition, disease, high infant mortality rate, squalid conditions of living, and low life expectancy.

In order to eradicate poverty in a country, strict measures need to be taken on all levels. The political system needs to address this issue with utmost sincerity and strategic implementation in such a way that it improves the lives of people, especially the ones living below the poverty line. 

Also Read: Speech on Made in India

Poverty is like a parasite that degrades its host and eventually causes a lot of damage to the host. It is basically the scarcity of basic needs that leads to an extremely degraded life and even low life expectancy. It includes a lack of food, shelter, medication, education, and other basic necessities. Poverty is a more serious circumstance where people are forced to starve. It can be caused by a variety of factors depending upon the country. 

Every country that is hit with pandemic diseases, experiences an increase in poverty rates. This is because of the fact that poor people are unable to receive adequate medical care and hence are unable to maintain their health. This renders the people powerless and even puts their liberty in jeopardy. This is because of the fact that poor people can become trapped in a vicious cycle of servitude. The condition of poverty is a distressing one that causes pain, despair, and grief in the lives of the ones it affects. 

This is also a negative scenario that prevents a child from attending basic education. It’s the lack of money that prevents people from living sufficiently. Also, it is the cause of more serious social concerns such as slavery, child labour, etc. Hence action is needed on the same with utmost sincerity. 

Essay on Poverty in 300 words

Poverty is a multifaceted concept that includes several aspects such as social aspects, political elements, economic aspects, etc. It is basically associated with undermining a variety of essential human attributes such as health, education, etc. Despite the growth and development of the economies of countries, poverty still exists in almost every one of them. 

There are several contributing reasons behind poverty in a nation. Some of them are mentioned below:-

• Lack of literacy among citizens
• Lack of Capital in the country
• Large families and a rapidly growing population
• Limited employment opportunities

There are even urban areas where the slum population is increasing. These are deprived of many basic amenities such as sanitation, drainage systems, and low-cost water supply, etc. 

According to UNICEF , around 22000 children lose their lives each day due to poverty. There are approximately 1.9 billion children in developing countries in the world and India is also among them. Out of these, approximately 640 million don’t have a proper shelter, 270 million are living without medical facilities, and approximately 400 million don’t have access to safe water. This worldwide situation is growing at a fast pace. 

The approaches by NGOs basically include helping the poor by providing various public services such as medical services etc.

They also play a major role in mobilizing the services recommended by the government. They have various approaches and strategies that directly help the poor in various ways.

We help in eradicating poverty by increasing employment opportunities.

Ensuring financial services and providing the same is another such measure that can be taken.

Recognizing social entrepreneurs as people of influence, conveying to them the seriousness of this situation, and then eventually making people aware of the same is another thing that can be done. 

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Writing an essay on poverty in 200 words requires you to describe various aspects of this topic such as what causes poverty, how it affects individuals and society as a whole, etc. The condition of poverty is a distressing one that causes pain, despair, and grief in the lives of the ones it affects.

An essay on poverty may be started as follows:- Poverty is a deep-rooted problem that continues to affect a large portion of the world’s population today. It touches on several aspects of human life including but not limited to political, economic, and social elements. Even though there are several methods to escape poverty, still issues arise due to a lack of adequate unity among the country’s citizens.

Poverty in 100 words: Poverty is defined as a state of scarcity, and the lack of material possessions to such an extreme extent that people have difficulties in fulfilling their basic needs. Robert McNamara, a former World Bank President, states that extreme poverty is limited by illiteracy, malnutrition, disease, high infant mortality rate, squalid conditions of living, and low life expectancy. In order to eradicate poverty in a country, strict measures need to be taken on all levels. The political system needs to address this issue with utmost sincerity and strategic implementation in such a way that it improves the lives of people, especially the ones living below the poverty line.

For more information on such interesting topics, visit our essay writing page and follow Leverage Edu .

Deepansh Gautam

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• Poverty Essay for Students in English

Essay on Poverty

Poverty is a disease that has no cure. The deeper this disease is, the deeper its wound. By the way, man lives under compulsion. But usually one wants to avoid it. Poverty is a condition of extreme poverty for any person or human being. This is a situation when a person starts to lack important things in his life such as the roof, necessary food, clothes, medicines, etc. to continue his life.

The causes of poverty are excessive population, fatal and contagious diseases, natural disasters, low agricultural yields, unemployment, casteism, illiteracy, gender inequality, environmental problems, changing trends in the economy of the country, untouchability, little or limited access to people's rights, Problems such as political violence, sponsored crime, corruption, lack of encouragement, inaction, ancient social beliefs, etc. have to be faced.

Poverty has become a big problem of the world, efforts are being made across the world today to remove poverty, but the problem is that it does not take the name of ending. This problem affects a human's economic and daily life. Poverty teaches man to live like a slave in which he has to change the place over time, in this situation due to the lack of education of the poor, his nature and speech also make a difference. Living in a world of poor people has become a curse. Getting enough money to get food is like getting relief from a curse for the poor, that's why they do not have access to education.

Reasons of Poverty

There are many reasons that have continued with carrying it for a long time. Because of this,  freedom, mental and physical fitness, and lack of security in a person remains. It is very important that in order to live a normal life, the country and the whole world will have to work together to bring proper physical and mental health, complete education, a home for everyone, and other important things.

In today's time, there is the problem of poverty which gives all the pain, pain, and despair to the poor. Due to the lack of money from poverty, I show the lack of many things. Poverty makes children spend life in compulsion. If forced to make bread, sometimes in bringing children's books. At that time he is also unable to raise children.

We can tell poverty in many ways like it has become a common thing in India. Most of the people here are unable to get the things they need. Here a vast section of the population is illiterate, hungry, and forced to live without clothes and a home. About half of India's population suffers from this epidemic of poverty.

A poor person lives his life without possession of basic things like food for two times, clean water, house, clothes, proper education, etc. There are many reasons for poverty in India. Incorrect distribution of national income is also a reason. People in the low-income group are much poorer than those in the high-income group. Children of poor families never get proper education, nutrition, and a happy childhood environment. The main cause of poverty is illiteracy, corruption, growing population, weak agriculture, the growing gap between rich and poverty, etc.

Measures to Control Poverty

Corruption has to be erased.

Unemployed will have to give proper employment

A growing population will have to be stopped

Farmers have to be given proper facilities for farming

Education should be provided to children for proper education

Poverty is not just a human problem but it is a national problem. It should be solved by implementing some effective methods on a quick basis. Every person should be united by ending corruption. A problem has been created in which he does not get even the basics. That is why at present, many measures are being taken to prevent poverty so that the standard of living of people around the world can be improved.

Short Essays on Poverty

Poverty is akin to being a slave, as a person cannot achieve anything he desires. It has various faces that alter depending on who you are, where you are, and when. It can be defined in various ways depending on how a person feels or experiences it.

Poverty is a state that no one wants to be in, but it must be removed owing to cultural norms, natural disasters, or a lack of adequate education. The individual who is experiencing it frequently wishes to flee. Poverty is a call for poor people to earn enough money to eat, have access to education, have adequate shelter, dress appropriately, and take steps to protect themselves from social and political violence.

It's a problem that goes unnoticed yet significantly impacts a person's social life. Poverty is an entirely avoidable problem, but there are various reasons why it has persisted in the past.

Poverty robs people of their freedom, mental health, physical well-being, and security. Everyone must strive to eradicate poverty from the country and the world, ensuring appropriate physical and mental health, full literacy, a home for all, and other necessities for living a simple life.

When a person cannot do anything according to his will, he is said to be in poverty. Many different faces alter depending on who you are, where you are, and time. It can be characterized in a variety of ways, depending on how the person feels or what they have achieved. Poverty is a circumstance that no one wants to be in, even if it is forced upon them due to a lack of experience, nature, natural disasters, or a lack of suitable education. Humans have won it, but they prefer to stay away from it. Poverty is a call for needed clothing and protection against social and political violence for the poor to earn enough money to buy food, receive an education, and find a suitable place to live.

This is an unseen problem that harms a person's social life. Even though numerous factors have contributed to its long-term persistence, poverty is a perfectly preventable problem. As a result, a person's freedom, mental and physical well-being, and sense of security are all compromised. It is critical to bring poverty and poverty from worldwide to work together to live everyday life, provide adequate physical and mental health, complete education, a home for everyone, and other essential things.

FAQs on Poverty Essay for Students in English

1. What are the Effects of Poverty?

When people are not able to afford their basic necessities. For example medications and hospital fees are impossible to afford for that means they choose crook ways of obtaining money i.e. stealing, robbery, etc.  

2. What are the Possible Ways to Remove Poverty?

Since India is a developing country, eliminating poverty here is much tougher than in other countries but still some measures can be taken and government assistance would be much helpful in this step which requires some relevant planning and policies for those who fall under the poverty line. Another major factor of poverty is illiteracy and unemployment. Therefore education is the most efficient tool to confine the poverty line in the country. 

3. What is the Poverty Line?

The Below Poverty Line (BPL) signifies the state of people who fall under poverty status. It also symbolizes an economic drawback. In addition, it is used for people who are in need of help and assistance from the government.

4. What are the causes of poverty?

Poverty has several causes, including a lack of access to essentials such as water, food, shelter, education, and healthcare. Poverty is also caused by inequities such as gender or ethnic discrimination, bad governance, conflict, exploitation, and domestic violence. These disparities not only cause a person or a society to fall into poverty, but they can also prevent people from receiving social assistance that could help them get out of it. Due to political upheaval, past or present conflict, corrupt authorities, and lousy infrastructure that restricts access to education, clean water, healthcare, and other essentials, children and communities in fragile states confront greater poverty rates.

5. What can we do to put an end to extreme poverty?

We can aid in the eradication of extreme poverty by determining what causes it in a particular community and then determining what needs to change. Because poverty manifests itself differently in different regions and is caused by different circumstances, the work to end extreme poverty differs depending on the situation. More economic resources are needed to assist people in increasing their income and better providing for themselves and their families. To ensure that poverty does not return, the work must be sustainable, regardless of the solution. As a result, the community must be involved at every stage.

6. What criteria are used to assess poverty?

Each country's government determines poverty levels by conducting home surveys of its citizens. The World Bank, for example, assists and may conduct their surveys, although data collecting is time-consuming and slow. New high-frequency surveys are being created and tested, leveraging estimations and mobile phone technologies. If you want to learn more about these topics, download the Vedantu App that has been specifically designed and curated for students by experts.

7. What is the poverty cycle?

Poverty can be a catch-22 situation. To escape poverty, a person requires access to possibilities such as education, clean water, local medical services, and financial means. Poverty creates a generational cycle if these critical factors are not there. If parents cannot afford to take their children to school, they will struggle to find work when they grow up. Even natural disasters and conflicts can exacerbate the poverty cycle by bringing more people.

8. What are the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)?

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a set of goals for countries worldwide to work together in a global partnership for the benefit of people, the environment, and prosperity. The Sustainable Development Goals aim to abolish extreme poverty for all people everywhere by 2030 and to reduce the proportion of people living in poverty in all forms by at least half. In September 2015, the United Nations member states accepted this objective as one of 17 to end extreme poverty.

Home — Essay Samples — Social Issues — Poverty in America — Life in Poverty: Defying the Odds

Life in Poverty: Defying The Odds

• Categories: Child Poverty Poverty in America

About this sample

Words: 438 |

Published: Jan 25, 2024

Words: 438 | Page: 1 | 3 min read

Table of contents

Defying the odds, works cited.

• ASHBERY, JOHN. "My Philosophy Of Life". Midwest Studies In Philosophy 33.1 (2009): 1-2. Web.
• Kass, Leon. Life, Liberty, And The Defense Of Dignity. 1st ed. San Francisco: Encounter Books, 2002. Print.

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