Dbq Poverty Analysis

Today, poverty is prevalent throughout the world with 80% of humanity living on less than $10 a day. However, this isn’t the first time poverty is seen so frequently in society. During the Renaissance, approximately 50% of Europe’s population lived at a subsistence level with 80% of Europeans facing possible starvation in times of peril. In the midst of this time period, as poverty ran rampant it led to differing attitudes towards helping the poor as well as the concept of poverty. Poverty was viewed by the upper class as well as humanists as a negative influence to society due to characteristics like idleness which was thought to be the beginning of all evils. Meanwhile, religious officials like the clergy as well as artists thought that the poor should be assisted for spiritual benefits and believed that aiding the poor was only
Town councils and poorhouse’s thought that the poor should be punished through regulations and disciplinary actions because they were idle and did not contribute to society.
Humanists along with the upper class thought that poverty exerted a negative influence on society. “Experience shows that if begging for alms is permitted to everyone indiscriminately, many errors and abuses will result, for they will fall into idleness, which is the beginning of all evils.” (Document 4) This quote is from Emperor Charles V a prominent member of the upper class who states that if anyone is allowed to be a beggar in poverty idleness will ensue. Furthermore, he states that idleness is the beginnings of all evils like abandoning their children and their trade or occupation for a wicked and contemptible life. Thus, he thought that if the poor became idle, unemployed, they would be lazy living a worthless life and would continue to mooch off of society while providing nothing. “Instead, I offered to heal them, for God’s