貧窮

貧窮是個很廣泛的觀念。在中文裏，貧、窮兩字本解作「極度不足」，日常使用裏則指「缺乏錢財，生活拮據困乏」（中華民國教育部國語辭典）。不過，現代的貧窮（poverty）不限於錢財方面的不足，貧窮可形容人類一般生活情況非常困難、資源短缺。有些人認為貧窮的定義是主觀、具比較性的；有人認為是關乎道德標準的；也有人認為可以從科學角度去理解貧窮的意思。

一般可以通過以下幾方面探討「貧窮」觀念：

• 人類物質上的所需，包括日常生活的必需品和服務的不足，這些不足有沒有改變、改善。
• 經濟上是否豐裕，錢財、資源（天然資源）是否足夠。「足夠」一詞在世界各地的文化、政治、經濟上，都有着不同的定義，歐盟國家對「貧窮」的定義就包含了資源分佈是否平等。
• 社會人際關係，面臨貧窮的人有否被邊緣化、是否對他人依賴、能否過着普遍認為「正常」的生活模式－－例如，是否能夠維持一個健康的家庭、能否教養小孩、能否參與社會上的活動。

貧窮的定義

貧窮是在很多方面的有關社會、經濟及文化傳統上。

• 在於經濟上，分為兩類的貧窮：絕對貧窮和相對貧窮。

• 在於政治上，很多國家的政府以對抗及消滅貧窮為社會福利的工作目標，為達成目標，許多政府也設置有專門處理貧窮問題的組織或機構。這些機構所做的工作主要以人口普查研究以及確認低收入戶為多。在積極的作為方面，則包括了住房供給計畫、社會津貼、特殊工作機會或提供生活必需品。某些意識形態（例如馬克思主義）認為經濟學家及政治人物為了製造貧窮而努力奔走。其他理論則認為貧窮是一種經濟系統失敗的徵象，也是犯罪的主要原因。

• 從法律面而言，在許多已發展國家之中，貧窮是法定減輕刑罰事由之一。立法者通常認為，一個人能否清楚認知社會及法律所接受的行為，係受到其通常且經常性地處於生活窮困狀態中所影響。由於窮人心理壓力的增加，貧窮通常被認為導致犯罪率升高。

• 在教育方面，poverty affects a student's ability to effectively profit from the learning environments. Especially for younger students coming from poverty, their primary needs as described in Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs; the need for a safe and stable homes, clothes on their backs, and regular meals clouds a student's ability to learn. Furthermore, in education circles there is a term used to characterize the phenomenon of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer (as it relates to education but easily transfers to poverty in general) is the Matthew Effect.

Related debates on a states' human capital and a person's individual capital tend likewise to focus on access to the instructional capital and social capital available only to those educated in such formal systems.

貧窮的成因

以下都有可能導致貧窮：

• 個人因素：「病態性」的因素，即將貧窮視為是行為、選擇或缺乏能力所導致的後果；
• 家庭因素： 將貧窮歸因於家庭的教養過程；
• 次文化因素：將貧窮歸因於一個社群中藉由學習及分享所得的生活模式；
• 社會因素：將貧窮視為其他人（包括政府及經濟體系）所造成的後果；
• 結構性因素：立論貧窮是社會結構所導致的。

雖然人們普遍認為貧窮及失業是因為懶惰所造成，然而即便是世界上每個國民平均最富有的國家如美國，目前仍有數百萬人處於貧窮勞動（working poor）的狀態，亦即其並未享有福利或其他立即的公眾援助計畫，以致其無法跨越貧窮線。

消滅貧窮

Poverty is often strongly correlated with social problems, such as crime and disease (notably sexually transmitted diseases), sometimes in epidemic form. As a result, many societies respond to poverty by a variety of methods which range from moral persuasion to financial subsidy to physical coercion.

The main responses to poverty are

• Poor Relief, or giving aid direct to poor people. This has been part of the approach of European societies since the middle ages.
• Responses to individual circumstances. A variety of measures have been taken to change the situation of poor people on an individual basis, including e.g. punishment, education, social work, employment, and workfare.
• Provision for contingencies. Rather than providing for poor people directly, many welfare states have provided for categories of people who are likely to be poor, such as old people or people with disabilities, or circumstances which may impoverish people, like the need for health care.
• Strategic intervention. Many people have argued that poor people can be helped to change their circumstances through focusing on selected, specific measures. Examples have included political participation, urban regeneration and the development of social capital.
• Economic development. The anti-poverty strategy of the World Bank depends heavily on preventing poverty through the promotion of economic growth. It is often argued that "a rising tide lifts all boats", though as critics comment, it can also sink some.

Many societies at various times have tried to eliminate poverty, through numerous measures including education, industrialization, and through forms of social welfare. A true solution has remained elusive.

有關貧窮的討論

Poverty is a highly political issue. People with right wing views often see it as related to laziness, a lack of family planning or too much interference of government. People with left wing views see it more in terms of social justice and lack of opportunity in education. It is a highly complex issue in which various factors often play a part.

The condition in itself is not always considered negatively, even if this is the prevalent interpretation: some cultural or religious groups consider poverty an ideal condition to live in, a condition necessary in order to reach certain spiritual or intellectual states. Poverty in this sense is understood as the lack of material possessions. For some orders this is equivalent to "voluntary simplicity": Mother Teresa said that the vow "frees us from all material possessions". However the vow of poverty traditionally goes beyond that: the Dominicans "lived a life of voluntary poverty, exposing themselves to innumerable dangers and sufferings, for the salvation of others." (Honorius II, 1217).

參見

• Frances Fox Piven, Richard A. Cloward, Regulating the Poor: The Functions of Public Welfare, Vintage Books 1993
• Jean Swanson, Poor-Bashing: The Politics of Exclusion, 2001

外部連結

Poverty The Development Gateway community portal on Poverty is a comprehensive collection of articles, reports, data, statistics, projects and other resources.

PovertyNet PovertyNet provides an introduction to key issues as well as in-depth information on poverty measurement, monitoring, analysis, and on poverty reduction strategies for researchers and practitioners.