Poverty and Plutus - posits and process...

Hey all,

Some food for thought...

Been thinking a lot about Poverty in a parallel context to our show: less the character and more the state of being and its presence and its effects and causes...and its essence.  The character fights and pleas that she,it, Poverty, is essential, right?  It's always seen so negatively and exemplified as the nadir, the bottom, the line which we shouldn't cross.  But, she points out, that line is beggary, a point beyond poverty.  And without the poor and the hard-working, the world would not operate.

So that got me to thinking about the law of opposites, action and reaction, cause and effect, balance.  Our Edie is right, but since this entire world primarily runs on commodity or money, then all that labor and production from the poor people, for the most part, is a function of a larger process -  a larger scheme which all starts and finishes with spending money to make money, raising capital to gain capital.  So, it is logical then:
If there is a line you shouldn't cross at the bottom, there is probably a line you shouldn't cross at the top.  If beggary is the extreme on one side, what do we find on the other side of the line at the top?  The 1%?  Yes, undoubtedly.  But that does not evoke or provoke action, sensation, or emotion (but beggary does!)(and there's just got to be a handful of those 1 percenters that are good and just, I have to believe it in my heart...).  I'm not sure that the opposite is greed - not sure if it is extreme enough.  So I ask you, what is that thing on the other side of the line so forceful that it at once lures, no, sucks people in, and repulses the rest?  Maybe hoarding...?

I keep being drawn back to our training and our vocabulary.  "Always balancing, never balanced..." It's always action and never stasis.  Even when we are static, we are floating, treading, searching, waiting, hoping, expecting.  There is a constant movement, a to and fro, a rise and fall, an expand and contract, a push and a pull, a give and a take.  Poverty and Plutus.  Is Contentment ever achieved?  It is, of course, this expectation of satisfaction and/or justice that proves to be our downfall, on either side of the equation.  Are we escaping Poverty or capturing Wealth?  Perhaps there is no answer, no destination to that journey, but there does lie some inkling of satisfaction (good or bad, I don't know...) in knowing that the world cannot exist without money, and the two extremes of that are Wealth and Poverty, and one cannot exist without the other...

So I have questions.  I have written some of my recent brainstorming questions and thoughts below, along with some facts about poverty.  Please feel free to comment or respond to any of this...

Cheers
Taylor

* Where does poverty come from? It’s a second-hand state of being, right?  It cannot generate itself – or does it? – it’s always the result of something else…big business, government, economy…so there is an inherent need and dependence that is built into poverty…into the state of poverty.

* How did poverty come into existence? When currency came into existence? Who was the first poor person?  First rich person?  How could one possibly know that?  

* What is the relationship between Absolute poverty and Relative poverty? The line between maintaining dignity and giving in to beggary?

* Poignant that the objective is to equalize wealth, but no matter who is affected, or how, the ultimate super-objective is to: Escape Poverty or Capture Wealth?  Survival vs. Desire!!!!

DEFINITIONS OF POVERTY

Poverty, as defined by Merriam-Webster:

1. the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions 2. a scarcity or dearth

Poverty, as defined by Google:

1. The state of being inferior in quality or insufficient in amount.

Poverty, as defined by Wikipedia:

United Nations: Fundamentally, poverty is a denial of choices and opportunities, a violation of human dignity. It means lack of basic capacity to participate effectively in society. It means not having enough to feed and clothe a family, not having a school or clinic to go to, not having the land on which to grow one’s food or a job to earn one’s living, not having access to credit. It means insecurity, powerlessness and exclusion of individuals, households and communities. It means susceptibility to violence, and it often implies living in marginal or fragile environments, without access to clean water or sanitation.

World Bank: Poverty is pronounced deprivation in well-being, and comprises many dimensions. It includes low incomes and the inability to acquire the basic goods and services necessary for survival with dignity. Poverty also encompasses low levels of health and education, poor access to clean water and sanitation, inadequate physical security, lack of voice, and insufficient capacity and opportunity to better one’s life.

Now, the World Bank defines extreme poverty as living on less than US$1.25 (PPP) per day.  But, each nation has its own threshold for absolute poverty line; in the United States, for example, the absolute poverty line was US$15.15 per day in 2010 (US$22,000 per year for a family of four),^[17] while in India it was US$ 1.0 per day^[18] and in China the absolute poverty line was US$ 0.55 per day, each on PPP basis in 2010.