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Wrong. If you do not have have what the average person in your society has, you'll struggle to participate in your society (in an absolute sense) and you'll be

Wrong. If you do not have have what the average person in your society has, you'll struggle to participate in your society (in an absolute sense) and you'll be treated as an inferior, which does all kinds of harm (in an absolute sense). If I live aboard a ship, I am not in poverty because I do not own a car, because in my society, you do not need a car. But if I live in a city with no public transport where you need a car to get around, but I can't afford one, I absolutely am. Poverty apologists always bring up TV as an example, as if poverty is about optional extras rather than basic dignity, respect and participation.

naveen99 8y ago
I think you mean absolutely relatively poor.
taneq 8y ago
You seem here to be asserting that "not feeling/being inferior to the people around you" is some kind of intrinsic human right?
- xor1 8y ago
  Technically there are no intrinsic human rights and it's up to us as a society to define them.
  - prewett 8y ago
    I don't think you really want to go down that road... Historically, most societies have "chosen" a set of expansive "rights" for the top and limited rights for the bottom. I say "chosen" because most societies had it chosen for them by whoever conquered them, or at best, the lower classes had it chosen for them by those with power.
- djrobstep 8y ago
  Rights are human concepts, they aren't intrinsic. It's about feeling inferior, it's about being treated inferior, often violently so. For instance, what happens when you try and retrieve groceries from a supermarket when you cannot afford to pay for them.
mantas 8y ago
Many people do think about starving kids when they hear "poverty" though. There would be much less outcry in media if everybody realized it's about kids having smaller TVs rather than truly starving. There's a running joke in my country that US poverty is our middle class - only two cars and a small house.

naveen99 8y ago

I think you mean absolutely relatively poor.

taneq 8y ago

You seem here to be asserting that "not feeling/being inferior to the people around you" is some kind of intrinsic human right?

xor1 8y ago
Technically there are no intrinsic human rights and it's up to us as a society to define them.
- prewett 8y ago
  I don't think you really want to go down that road... Historically, most societies have "chosen" a set of expansive "rights" for the top and limited rights for the bottom. I say "chosen" because most societies had it chosen for them by whoever conquered them, or at best, the lower classes had it chosen for them by those with power.
djrobstep 8y ago
Rights are human concepts, they aren't intrinsic. It's about feeling inferior, it's about being treated inferior, often violently so. For instance, what happens when you try and retrieve groceries from a supermarket when you cannot afford to pay for them.

mantas 8y ago

Many people do think about starving kids when they hear "poverty" though. There would be much less outcry in media if everybody realized it's about kids having smaller TVs rather than truly starving. There's a running joke in my country that US poverty is our middle class - only two cars and a small house.