And if you look at the reality in the United States where you have more than 40 million people below the poverty line and 42 million on food stamps and then you look at poverty around the world clearly the way we're running the engine of capitalism is not serving us well.

Poverty is unnecessary.

I have a fear of poverty in old age. I have this vision of myself living in a skip and eating cat food. It's because I'm freelance and I've never had a proper job. I don't have a pension and my savings are dwindling. I always thought someone would just come along and look after me.

A propensity to hope and joy is real riches one to fear and sorrow real poverty.

Poverty entails fear and stress and sometimes depression. It meets a thousand petty humiliations and hardships. Climbing out of poverty by your own efforts that is something on which to pride yourself but poverty itself is romanticized by fools.

You are going to let the fear of poverty govern you life and your reward will be that you will eat but you will not live.

We need to recognise that what really matters isn't buying more and more consumer goods but family friends and knowing that we are doing something worthwhile with our lives. Helping to reduce the appalling consequences of world poverty should be part of that reassessment.

For those who are able to work work has to be seen as the best route out of poverty. For work is not just about more money - it is transformative. It's about taking responsibility for yourself and your family.

Left-wing politicians take away your liberty in the name of children and of fighting poverty while right-wing politicians do it in the name of family values and fighting drugs. Either way government gets bigger and you become less free.

My family kinda hit the skids. We were experiencing poverty at that point. We all got a job where the whole family had to work as security guards and janitors. And I just got angry.