Social norms and poverty tresholds

Abstract

Any measurement of poverty must specify a threshold and what this represents. Is it possible to avoid arbitrariness in the determination of these thresholds? Or are they totally subjective and depend on the observer’s values, prejudices and preferences? Or is poverty a real condition that causes suffering and exclusion from full participation in social life? This article argues that the meaning of adequate satisfaction of human needs is determined by social norms reflecting what society considers the minimum wellbeing to which all members should access. It proposes a methodology to identify these norms and emphasizes the process of their social structuring.