Poverty in Graeco-Roman Philosophy

Ancient Greek philosophers mainly dealt with poverty from two different perspectives. The first regards poverty as a form of destitution (ptocheia), an individual condition that is usually beneficial to the path of philosophical research, virtue, and happiness. This perspective dates back to Socrates and it strongly influenced Hellenistic philosophers, in particular the Cynics. The second perspective considers poverty as a form of penia (i.e., the necessity of working to earn a living) and thus a political problem, inasmuch as it represents a threat to social harmony and the political stability of the state. This view regards poverty as closely associated with wealth and wealth distribution within the polis. Philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle (but also some of the Pre-Socratics, such as Archytas of Tarentum) dealt with the problem of the conflictual relations between the rich and the poor. They offered different solutions, including redistribution of property (leading to economic egalitarianism), a regular practice of giving by the wealthy to the poor, regulation of access to offices based on wealth, and even exclusion of the poor from political rule. By contrast, poverty finds only scanty attention in the works of Roman philosophers.