Human Dignity and Poverty

Living below poverty threshold infringes human dignity. But the reverse is also true: the concept of human dignity is the key to a better understanding of poverty and to its overcoming. Approaching the last mentioned connection, an interdisciplinary team (Social sciences, Theology, Psychology, Social work, Law) developed in Romania a pattern and carried out empirical research in a several years' project. The theoretical section of the present volume consists of the various perspectives on human dignity - here it is quite important the differentiation between the fundamental and the empirical use of the concept. The empirical component of human dignity was subdivided in five dimensions and illustrated through the corresponding internal and external factors. The basis for operationalisation was set herewith. The various factors of human dignity were observed and their perception was recorded by means of a comprehensive questionnaire combining quantitative and qualitative elements. The questionnaire and the results of the 858 interviews are reproduced here together with the first stages of interpretation. The volume also includes the papers presented at the project's final international conference which revealed that the topic is actual even beyond the context of Romania.