People confuse what poverty is. We think it means a lack of means: money and possessions. Yet, by all accounts, the world’s most primitive people today have the fewest possessions. But they are not poor.
Because poverty is a social construct—a modern-day invention. In gift societies, there was not a surplus of items. You made due. You shared. You gave gifts. And we still found ways to get by, even thrive.
Poverty is a symptom of our modern-day world. The most straightforward example is that the world produces enough food to feed everyone 1.5 times over. And yet, one in 10 people goes to bed hungry every night. While things are improving, we also see what happens when we create social status, which has accelerated in modern times.
Jacqueline Novogratz has a much better take on what poverty is: “The opposite of poverty isn’t wealth, but dignity.” She describes it as having a choice, agency, the opportunity to contribute, and to be seen. This has nothing to do with money. As the wise Bob Marley once said, “Some people are so poor, all they have is money.”
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