Synopsis Why are so many people poor in a world that’s richer than ever before? Something must be wrong with conventional thinking about wealth and poverty Jeremy Seabrook summarizes his celebrated work on the meaning of poverty, drawing on the experience of poor people themselves in both rich and poor societies. He concludes that the opposite of poverty is not wealth but ‘Sufficiency’. The relatively poor majority of the world’s people do not aim to be rich, but to be safe. Economic growth will never overcome problems it is largely responsible for creating. This is a clarion call for a radical rethink, not just about poverty, but about the way we live.