ABSTRACT
Poverty, often preceded by a population explosion and followed by undernourishment or starvation, constitutes a very serious malaise that is spread widely all over the world today, with large sections of humankind living below an acceptable minimum standard, especially in the least developed or developing countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America. It can be observed lying dormant or manifest in the unequal distribution of wealth, wordly possessions, material facilities and comforts, dividing the possessors into haves and have-nots, both in developing countries such as India and in developed countries such as the United States, each with its own criteria of poverty and standard of living. Though extremes of poverty and wealth exist in both parts of the world, the shades of poverty tend to darken the less developed countries, whilst the brighter colours of prosperity enlighten the developed nations. Inhabitants are labelled poor or rich, deprived or privileged, pauper or capitalist, backward or advanced, subordinate or superior, proletarian or bourgeois, and sometimes in terms of black or white, thereby associating possessions or the lack of them with preconceived prejudices.
