COMPARE AND CONTRAST

QUESTION:

THESIS:

Absolute and relative poverty, although both ways of measuring poverty, differ in terms of their

definition of what poverty actually is. Absolute poverty includes the lack of biological

necessities, such as food, water, clothing, housing, and sanitation, whereas, relative poverty (or

extreme poverty) refers to a poverty line, and is a definition of the amount of income a person

needs to satisfy basic needs. In basic terms, absolute poverty is a having a lack of basic resources

and relative poverty is more to do with income inequality.

Absolute poverty refers to a set condition, which is the same in every country, and does not

change over a period of time. Relative poverty, on the other hand, refers to conditions which are

subjective to the society in which the person lives, and therefore, does vary between countries,

and can change over time e.g. more urban cities will have greater education, energy, and

transportation costs, so the poverty line will be higher in this country, compared to poorer

countries. In regards to relative poverty, the poverty line below which a person should fall to be

in poverty can rise as the country gets richer, whereas for relative poverty, this ‘line’ is universal

i.e. the same minimum standard for everyone across the world. People in relative

poverty do have an income, but it is lower than the set income level. They are seen as poor

because they do not have the capabilities to meet certain standard set by a community. For

example, someone living in a rich society may have a steady income and all the necessities for

living, but because they do not have as many luxuries as others living in the society, they are said
to be in relative poverty. In contrast, if someone cannot afford necessities they are said to be in

absolute poverty. Absolute poverty is more evident in third world countries, where people are

living on $1 – $2 a day. Because of this low threshold, it can be argued that there is no absolute

poverty in the UK (where people are living on much more than this).
Poverty can be seen as low income, lack of access to decent housing, community amenities and social
networks, and assets, i.e. what people own. Somebody who lacks these resources can be said to be in
poverty in a wider sense.

‘Poor’ people are those who are considerably worse off than the majority of the population – a level of
deprivation heavily out of line with the general living standards enjoyed by the majority of the
population in one of the most affluent countries in the world. Professor Peter Townsend, a leading
authority on UK poverty, defines relative poverty as when someone’s “resources are so seriously below
those commanded by the average individual or family that they are, in effect, excluded from ordinary
living patterns, customs and activities

Absolute poverty

This is a term used in various different ways to denote a poverty level that does not change over time, in
terms of the living standard that it refers to. It stays the same even if society is becoming more
prosperous. An absolute poverty line thus represents a certain basic level of goods and services, and
only rises with inflation to show how much it would cost to buy that package.