Radar in the Fog: State Blindness to the Dynamics of Poverty
The modern state resembles a ship equipped with advanced radar that fails to detect smaller vessels in its blind spot. The "radar in the fog" metaphor describes a situation where macroeconomic indicators overlook individuals without a permanent address or bank account. This article analyzes why traditional measures fail and how Anthony Atkinson’s thought redefines the fight against exclusion. You will learn how multidimensional poverty shifts the perspective of social policy and why data is a crucial tool in the epistemology of power.
Anthony Atkinson: The Evolution of Poverty and the End of the Wallet's Dictatorship
Anthony Atkinson pointed out that wealth does not automatically eliminate poverty. The definition of a minimum dignified life is constantly evolving, and the statistical radar often serves the convenience of the state apparatus. Multidimensional poverty is not a metaphor, but a diagnosis of a "knot of deprivation": a convergence of lack of income, health, education, and agency. The Global MPI (Multidimensional Poverty Index) has become the global standard, examining 10 indicators across three dimensions: health, education, and standard of living. This measure shows how deficiencies overlap within a single household, exposing the illusion of indicators based solely on income.
Capability Approach and the Societal Poverty Line: Freedom as a Measure of Prosperity
According to the capability approach, income is merely a resource. Real freedom depends on the ability to convert it into a dignified life, which requires infrastructure and security. The concept of the societal poverty line combines absolute and relative dimensions, accounting for the rising cost of participating in society. These challenges vary regionally: Asia, Africa, and the OECD represent different deprivation regimes. In Asia, success is sensitive to methodology; in Africa, infrastructure data is lacking; and in OECD countries, the luxury of statistics masks the persistent exclusion of marginalized groups.
Poverty as a Systemic Foundation: AI, Business, and Statistical Tragedy
In the business world, ISSB and CSDDD standards attempt to integrate social risks into strategies, though they often treat poverty merely as an external cost. The debate over the sources of hardship divides researchers into proponents of individualism (lack of human capital) and structuralism (systemic violence). The statistical tragedy lies in overlooking "missing" populations—such as the homeless or migrants—making them invisible to the system. AI and big data offer the promise of precision but carry the threat of surveillance. Poverty data can serve as an alarm or a sedative for the elite's conscience, depending on whether it serves human recognition or merely risk management.
The Architecture of Solutions: Measuring Poverty as a Test of Public Reason
An effective architecture of solutions must combine monetary measures, multidimensional indicators, and the societal poverty line. Poverty is not an incidental glitch but often a structural foundation of the market system, which requires segments deprived of agency. Precise measurement is the ultimate test of the coherence of public reason. In the age of technology, will we choose AI and big data for poverty or against the poor? The future depends on whether we build the principle of human recognition into our institutions, rather than just the cold logic of statistical prediction.
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