Not only one’s own fault brings people into poverty. Chance can do it too: illness, bad luck, outer circumstances.

What does poverty mean in society?

The poor man still has the needs of society. But he has lost the natural means of earning a living. He no longer has a field. And the large clan that used to catch him is gone too.

He also loses, more or less, the advantages of society. He can hardly learn anything. He has little access to justice and to health care. Often he even lacks the comfort of religion.

Who takes the place of the family?

The public power. It deals with the immediate want. But it also turns against the attitude that grows from such a situation. It turns against the dislike of work, malice and other vices. These spring from the situation itself and from the feeling of suffering a wrong.

Summary: Poverty also comes through chance. The poor man has the needs of society, but not its advantages. The public power takes the place of the family for him.