On an Official Statement from the Baha’i International Community on Eradicating Poverty: Material and technical dimensions alone will not compel the changes needed

There are the thousands of statements by individuals on eradicating poverty made by bloggers on Blog Action Day. This is from an official statement of a collective body, the Baha’i International Community. -gw

 The concept of knowledge now needed to guide poverty alleviation efforts must be adequate to address both the poverty of means and the poverty of spirit. Material resources are essential, to be sure, yet they alone cannot generate a vision of the full measure of human prosperity; they cannot provide answers to the deepest questions about human nature or the purpose of our existence. Most importantly, the material and technical dimensions alone will not compel the fundamental changes in human character and belief needed to overcome the destructive behaviors which have led to present day conditions. They will not galvanize and sustain the human will to persevere, to strive for excellence, to humbly serve, to create, to seek knowledge, to cultivate beauty and to seek the well-being of all humankind. To encompass the spiritual dimension and its expression in the religions of the world is not to return to superstition or fanaticism or to denounce rational inquiry in any way. Rather, it is to build into poverty alleviation efforts, in an integrated manner, recognition of all the dimensions of human experience and an understanding of how poverty manifests in the material and spiritual dimensions of human life.

http://www.bic.org/statements-and-reports/bic-statements/08-0214.htm

Thanks Praveen. -gw