SahirJaggi

Homework1
sj2613
CIEEE3260

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Povertyisdefinedasastateofhavinginsufficientmeansofsupporttomeetbasicneeds.

Thatisanabsolutedefinition,butpovertycanalsobethoughtofrelatively,withpeoplebeing
describedaspoorwhentheirstandardoflifeissignificantlylessthanthatenjoyedbymost
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membersofsociety.
Thethresholdforrelativepovertydiffersfromcountrytocountry,
dependingontheaverageeconomicstatusofcitizens,and,unlikeabsolutepoverty,itisquite
likelyitmayneverceasetoexist.Inaddition,itisimportanttorealizethattherearemoreaspects
topovertythanhavinganincomebelowacertainlevel,suchasbeinghousepoororhealthpoor.
Absolutepovertyisthoughtofverysimilarlythroughouttheworld,especiallyinthecaseof
extremepoverty.TheWorldBanksetsthethresholdforextremepovertyatlivingonlessthan
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$1.25perday,which,asof2011,included17%oftheworld.
BillGatesandmanyothers
believethatextremepovertycanbeeliminatedwithinthenextcoupledecadeswiththehelpof
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foreignaid,especiallyconsideringhistoricaltrendsofdeclineinworldpoverty.

Theconceptofsustainabledevelopmentisbestcapturedbyaquotefromthe
World
CommissiononEnvironmentandDevelopmentsBrundtlandReport:

Developmentthatmeetstheneedsofthepresentwithoutcompromisingtheabilityof
futuregenerationstomeettheirownneeds.5

Whenworkingtowardssustainabledevelopment,itisessentialtoconsidernotonlyeconomic
needs,butalsosocialandenvironmentalneeds,suchthatanyactionsdonotcauseany
unintendedharm.Theprocessrevolvesaroundthinkingabouttheworldintheformofdeeply
connectedsystems,inordertofullyunderstandthecurrentandfutureimplicationsof
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developmentbeyonditsobjectives.
AsJeffreySachswrites,theaimofthemovementistopush
theworldtoworknotonlytowardseconomicgrowth,buttowardssustainablegrowththat
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incorporatesprotectionoftheenvironmentandincreaseinstandardoflivingforall.
TheUnited
NationsitselfhasestablishedSustainableDevelopmentGoalstopreventcontinueddisregardfor
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issuessuchasincreasingincomedisparityandhumancausedclimatechange.

AU.N.reportfromtheWorldSummitforSocialDevelopmentliststheessentialneedsof
humansasfollows:food,drinkingwater,sanitation,healthcare,shelter,education,and
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information.
Otherdocumentsshowsimilarlists,someincludingjobs.
Lackofaccesstothese
basicresourcesgenerallyqualifiesextremepoverty.Similarly,themostfundamentallevelof
needsinMaslowshierarchyofneedsisphysiologicalrequirementsforsurvival,whichcanbe
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interpretedtoincludenearlyallitemslistedbytheU.N.
TheU.N.sBasicNeedsDevelopment
Strategyisanapproachfocusedoneradicatingextremepovertyusingmeasurementofthe
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absolutepovertylevelbelowwhichindividualscannotaffordtosatisfytheiressentialneeds.

References

1. "Poverty."Dictionary.com.2015.AccessedJanuary30,2015.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/poverty.
2. "Poverty."UnitedNationsEducational,ScientificandCulturalOrganization.2014.
AccessedJanuary30,2015.
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/socialandhumansciences/themes/internationalmigratio
n/glossary/poverty/.
3. "PovertyOverview."TheWorldBank.October4,2014.AccessedJanuary30,2015.
http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/poverty/overview.
4. Matos,Joseph."TheWorld'sRichestManIsPredictingNoPovertyin2035."Mic.
January22,2014.AccessedJanuary30,2015.
5. "WhatIsSustainableDevelopment."TheWorldBankGroupDEPweb.2001.Accessed
January30,2015.http://www.worldbank.org/depweb/english/sd.html.
6. "WhatIsSustainableDevelopment?"InternationalInstituteforSustainableDevelopment.
2013.AccessedJanuary30,2015.https://www.iisd.org/sd/.
7. Sachs,Jeffrey."TheYearofSustainableDevelopment."ProjectSyndicate.December9,
2014.AccessedJanuary30,2015.
8. "SustainableDevelopmentGoals."SustainableDevelopmentKnowledgePlatform.2015.
AccessedJanuary30,2015.https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/?menu=1300.
9. "AgreementsoftheWorldSummitforSocialDevelopment,Copenhagen1995."UN
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http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/wssd/textversion/agreements/poach2.htm.
10. "OurCommonFuture,Chapter2:TowardsSustainableDevelopment."UNDocuments.
1987.AccessedJanuary30,2015.http://www.undocuments.net/ocf02.htm.
11. Maslow,A.H."ATheoryofHumanMotivation."ClassicsintheHistoryofPsychology.
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http://archive.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/uu30ce/uu30ce0d.htm.