141
These unsanitary living conditions
of the poor in London, as depicted by
Gustave Doré in 1872, afflicted most of
the cities of Europe. Adults, children,
and vermin fought for precious space.See also: Demographics and economics 68–69 ■ Development economics 188–93 ■
Entitlement theory 256–57
INDUSTRIAL AND ECONOMIC REVOLUTIONS
economists David Ricardo (p.84)
and Thomas Malthus (p.69) asked
for the Poor Laws to be abolished,
claiming handouts weakened the
incentive to work.
This view became widely held,
but there was an alternative view
given by British philosopher John
Stuart Mill (p.95) in 1848. Mill
argued that economics is
concerned only with production—
the distribution of wealth is
society’s choice. In his work on
politics he usually argued in favor
of limiting the role of government,
but in this case he said the state
should step in to help those unable
to help themselves and provide
citizens with the education they
needed to earn a living.
As the right to vote broadened
in European countries during
the 19th and 20th centuries, it
was accompanied by greater
demands for social spending
and the redistribution of wealth.
Elaborate public health and
education systems developed
with those for welfare benefits.
21st-century poverty
After 1800, a great divergence of
wealth developed between Europe
and North America, and the rest
of the world. Poverty has been a
persistent problem in South Asia
and Sub-Saharan Africa. Economists
have emphasized the role of health,
education, and transportation, as
well as direct support to the poor
in reducing poverty.
Indian economist Amartya Sen
(p.257) argued that poverty is about
limitations in “capabilities and
functionings”—the things people
can succeed in doing or being—
not the goods or services they have
access to. This idea is reflected
in continuing questions about
whether the poverty line is absolute
(meeting basic requirements) or
relative (such as a percentage of
the average income). ■Development goals
In September 2000, 189 world
leaders from the United
Nations signed eight
Millennium Development
Goals to be met by 2015. The
goals are: end poverty and
hunger, universal education,
gender equality, child health,
maternal health, combat
diseases (HIV/AIDS, TB, and
malaria), environmental
sustainability, and global
partnership. One target was
to halve the number of people
in extreme poverty by 2015.
According to the World
Bank, the percentage of
people in developing countries
who earn less than $1 a day
fell from 30.8 percent in 1990
to 14 percent in 2008, after
adjustments were made for
the different prices of goods
in the different countries. This
was largely thanks to progress
in East Asia. However, $1 is a
desperate level. The average
“poverty line” used by
developing countries is $2
a day. In 2008, 2.5 billion
people in developing countries
(43 percent) had incomes
below this line.A man begs in Fortaleza, Brazil.
According to the United Nations,
today’s poor face “dehumanizing
conditions.” The UN is committed
to halving world poverty by 2015.