Acedia: One Fundamental Cause of Philippine Poverty

Abstract

Poverty is a condition or as experts say a disease of the society that is traditionally characterized by the lack or insufficiency of basic human needs, such as potable water, sufficient nutrition, health care, essential education, clothing and shelter, because of the incapacity to afford them. However, this term is relative, like in some developed countries; the measurement of poverty is manifested by the condition of having fewer resources or less income than others within a society or country, or compared to worldwide averages. About 1.7 billion people live in absolute poverty; before the industrial revolution, poverty had mostly been the norm. The formal term for the near absolute lack of resources is called Extreme Poverty, while the condition of being below the norms of developed society is called relative poverty. Given such, it is now generally assumed that poverty could not be eliminated because of its relativity, but its extreme condition can be alleviated. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) stated that absolute poverty is living below the $1.25 poverty line.