The Methodological Foundations of Research and Poverty Alleviation in Economic Theory and Practice

The article is devoted to the problem of poverty at the methodological level, where the epistemology of this concept, the chronology of civilizational perception of poverty, as well as the possibilities of overcoming this negative phenomenon are considered. The aim of this article is to systematize and analyze the most well-known conceptions and practices for defining, assessing, and countering poverty. The specific objectives are based on the following tasks: 1) to describe the most well-known conceptions and practices for defining, assessing, and combating poverty; 2) to present the authors’ approach to this issue; 3) to prove the correctness of the statement that poverty can be programmed, modeled, and managed within the framework of a separate economic task. The socioeconomic nature of poverty as a real, widespread and common phenomenon that constitutes the essence of any economic system, exerting a more than significant influence on the economy, morality and the dynamics of progress, is substantiated. The importance of highlighting the main conceptual approaches to interpreting the nature of this phenomenon, as well as combating it (reducing, eliminating it as such, controlling its consequences, etc.) is emphasized. An analysis of well-known methods for assessing, tracking, and forecasting poverty has been carried out. The threats to the process of further scaling of poverty as both a socio-mental and economic phenomenon in the context of the current strengthening of protectionism in the economies of most countries of the world are substantiated. It has been acknowledged that over the last century, the scale of destitution (absolute poverty) in the world has decreased sharply; instead, poverty – in the broad sense – has taken on a new form and has grown primarily in economically developed economies. This is happening against the backdrop of the fact that the modern This is happening against the backdrop of the fact that the modern views of combating poverty have almost universally transformed into left-wing ideology, while the effectiveness of traditional State policies to counter poverty is questionable, to say the least. of combating poverty has almost universally transformed into left-wing ideology, while the effectiveness of traditional state policies to combat poverty is questionable, to say the least. The authors’ methodology of studying and overcoming poverty assumes the objectivity of this phenomenon in society and the effectiveness of proactive policies within the competence of local communities, and, accordingly, the low efficiency of national-level government policies. On this basis, the provisions of the authors’ theory of poverty, which is based on the libertarian version of socioeconomic development, are formulated and presented. The main idea of this version is that the philosophy of development is fundamental to overcoming poverty. Accordingly, poverty always has an individual dimension and model of correction; the only logical option for combating poverty is a model of development/self-development, which involves a radical change in the behavior of a specific agent. Poverty can be reduced to a minimum not through politics, but only by changing the socioeconomic status of a specific agent. Any of the above-mentioned models of development/self-development as a tool for combating poverty are derivative and logical elements of capitalism, i.e., a product of an economic environment with a maximally free market economy and competition, and a high level of overall freedom. Emphasis is placed on the special role of agents with an opportunistic worldview and behavior, whose presence is an objective phenomenon. A description of the universal economic objective of overcoming/minimizing poverty based on a set of actions within a clearly defined local economy is provided.