Poverty

Poverty is generally perceived as a moral problem that needs to be resolved. Philosophical discussions of poverty concern the conceptualization of poverty, its particular nature as a moral problem, and the reasons for ascribing moral responsibility to alleviate poverty. Some philosophers are critical of exclusively income‐based understandings of poverty and suggest instead that poverty consists of a lack of particular opportunities such as being able to be well nourished. Yet even if philosophers agree on how to conceive poverty, they may nevertheless disagree whether the moral problem that poverty constitutes is a distributive injustice or simply a humanitarian concern. In addition, philosophers also offer various justifications of the moral responsibility to alleviate poverty. While some highlight the mere capacity to alleviate poverty, others emphasize the contribution to or the benefit from poverty. These philosophical inquiries are closely related to, and need to be informed by, social‐scientific research on poverty – especially research regarding the causes of poverty, the effects of poverty, and the solutions to poverty.