Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online

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Poverty
(2,144 words)

1. Definitions

Poverty, the opposite of wealth, is a multi-dimensional social phenomenon; it cannot be defined unambiguously. The term denotes a relative situation that can assume different forms under differing geographical, chronological, socio-structural, and personal conditions. In many cases, therefore, people have spoken of “absolute” and “relative” (or “primary” and “secondary”) poverty, or poverty in the…

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Bräuer, Helmut, “Poverty”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 25 March 2023 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_COM_017069>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20210107



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