Although many people do not distinguish between poverty and scarcity, there is a difference. Scholars define poverty as the inability of individuals to meet basic needs such as shelter, clothing, and food whereas scarcity refers to a situation where the resources available cannot satisfy the unlimited wants (Coulter, Cowell & Jenkins, 2014). Thus, the difference is between the needs and the wants. Whereas needs are critical for survival, people can do without the wants although they enhance the well-being of individuals.
If various stakeholders were to focus on eradication of poverty based on food, shelter, and clothing, it is possible to end poverty. It would mean that the three basic needs are provided regardless of their quantities or qualities. Factors such as quality and quantity would translate to the needs becoming wants, which is not the main concern. Most of the time, poor people cannot provide for themselves and therefore require the intervention of bodies such as the government and non-governmental organizations to come to their rescue. It is possible for such bodies to provide individuals with at least three meals a day, a place to stay and clothes to wear.
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Nevertheless, sometimes the notion of poverty changes depending on countries where people live. For example, the standards of poverty in developing countries are not the same as those in developed countries. For instance in Canada, an agency known as Statistics Canada classifies an individual earning less than $22,133 per year as being poor (Hanratty & Blank, 2016). On the other hand, an individual in Africa who earns less than $1.90 per day is considered poor. Owing to the different poverty scales that are used by different countries, it means that it is impossible to attain a level where poverty will be said to be completely eradicated.
To conclude, it is accurate to speculate that poverty is relative. The levels of income as well as standards of living vary from one country to another, hence the disparity. If the scales of measuring poverty will continue to be different, people will always compare themselves to more developed countries, and it will, therefore, be difficult to reach a state where a consensus concerning poverty eradication will be reached.
References
Coulter, F. A., Cowell, F. A., & Jenkins, S. P. (2014). Equivalence scale relativities and the extent of inequality and poverty. The Economic Journal , 1067-1082.
Hanratty, M. J., & Blank, R. M. (2016). Down and out in North America: Recent trends in poverty rates in the United States and Canada. The Quarterly Journal of Economics , 107 (1), 233-254.
