enforced poverty

USAGE SUMMARY

"enforced poverty" is a correct and usable phrase in written English.
It is often used to refer to a situation in which a person or group is lacking the basic necessities of life as a result of oppressive or oppressive-like policies or conditions. For example, "As the economic crisis deepened, more and more people in the country were subjected to enforced poverty due to high unemployment and rising prices."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Science

Formal & Business

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

10 human-written examples

Is forced sterilization of Indigenous women the Canadian state's most reasonable solution to a population living in enforced poverty?

The Washington Post

Looters stole what little Iraqi engineers had scrimped and scavenged to keep the oil industry running during the 12 years of enforced poverty under United Nations sanctions.

The New York Times

They chafe at their enforced poverty: they have an allowance of 100 kina a week – equivalent to about $50 – which, in an expensive, remote place like Lorengau, buys almost nothing.

The Guardian

In one version, that history appears as an incremental movement toward equality after a long night of discrimination; in the other, history looks like a balance sheet, and the cumulative debits of sanctioned theft, enforced poverty, and scant opportunity far outweigh the inconsistent credits of good will.

The New Yorker

Perhaps it was a result of colonisation, with its enforced poverty and shame, but Ireland was for a long time interested in the idea of suffering well, or of suffering better than the oppressor; none was expected to suffer more, or more quietly, than the women of Ireland, into whose bodies and biology suffering was hard-wired.

The Guardian - Books

Sentencing Siwak, Judge Roger Hetherington told him: "They felt they were trapped and they were trapped, by conditions of enforced poverty, by violence or fear of violence and a general feeling of helplessness with no one to turn to for assistance and no way out.

BBC

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

50 human-written examples

Europe still has it ´relatively good´when compared with America --where sleeping in cars is illegal and enforced --- and where poverty means Poverty with a capital ´P´.

BBC

The immunity granted to members of parliament and diplomats does not help, nor do endemic corruption and weak courts.Even if the law could be enforced effectively, the poverty that tempts so many to turn to drug-dealing in the first place still needs to be tackled.

The Economist

After the fall of the Ming dynasty in 1644, Gong went into exile and self-enforced poverty in protest of the dynastic change wrought by the Manchu occupation; in 1664 he returned to Nanjing and eked out a living through painting.

Yale University

A third respect in which global poverty may be seen as coercive is by comparing the actual conditions of the world's poorest residents to a minimal moral baseline needed to make acceptable any institution of coercively enforced property rights.

SEP

Jay Z released a song called Spiritual, along with a quote from the 19th-century abolitionist Frederick Douglass: "Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organised conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe".

The Guardian - Music

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When using "enforced poverty", clearly identify the agent or system responsible for enforcing the conditions that lead to poverty to provide context and accountability.

Common error

Don't use "enforced poverty" without specifying who or what is doing the enforcing. Vague usage can weaken your argument and obscure the real causes of the situation.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "enforced poverty" functions as a noun phrase where 'enforced' acts as an adjective modifying 'poverty'. This denotes a state of poverty that is not accidental but imposed or maintained by external forces. Ludwig AI confirms its grammatical correctness.

Expression frequency: Uncommon

Frequent in

News & Media

60%

Science

20%

Formal & Business

10%

Less common in

Encyclopedias

0%

Wiki

0%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, "enforced poverty" is a grammatically correct and usable phrase that describes a state of poverty caused or maintained by external forces, policies, or systems. As Ludwig AI confirms, the phrase is most frequently found in news and media and scientific contexts. When using "enforced poverty", it is crucial to specify the enforcing agent or system to avoid vagueness and strengthen the argument. Alternative phrases include "imposed destitution" and "systemic impoverishment". By understanding its nuances and appropriate contexts, writers can effectively use "enforced poverty" to shed light on critical social and political issues.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

imposed destitution

Replaces "poverty" with "destitution" to emphasize extreme deprivation, and "enforced" with "imposed" to convey the act of placing a burden.

compulsory impoverishment

Substitutes "enforced" with "compulsory" and "poverty" with "impoverishment", highlighting the forced nature of the deprivation.

mandated impoverishment

Uses "mandated" to suggest an official or authoritative imposition of impoverishment.

systemic impoverishment

Shifts the focus to the systemic nature of the poverty rather than the direct act of enforcement.

legislated penury

Replaces "poverty" with "penury" to denote extreme poverty and "enforced" with "legislated" to highlight its origin in legal structures.

engineered scarcity

Implies that poverty is the result of intentional manipulation to create a state of scarcity.

artificial destitution

Suggests that the poverty is not naturally occurring but deliberately created or maintained.

coerced indigence

Emphasizes the element of coercion leading to a state of indigence, or extreme poverty.

structural poverty

Focuses on poverty being embedded within societal structures, removing the direct implication of active enforcement.

involuntary pauperism

Highlights the lack of choice in becoming a pauper (a very poor person), making the poverty state against the will of the affected.

FAQs

How does "enforced poverty" differ from general poverty?

"Enforced poverty" implies that poverty is the result of deliberate actions or policies, rather than simply a naturally occurring state. It suggests that systems are in place that "sustain poverty".

What are some other ways to describe "enforced poverty"?

Alternatives include "imposed destitution", "compulsory impoverishment", or "systemic impoverishment", which each emphasize different aspects of the concept.

Can "enforced poverty" be attributed to specific historical events?

Yes, historical events like colonization, discriminatory laws, and unfair trade practices can create conditions of "enforced poverty" for certain populations. Forced sterilization of Indigenous women is a stark example of "imposed destitution".

How can I use the term "enforced poverty" in a sentence?

You might say, "The community suffered from "enforced poverty" due to decades of discriminatory housing policies" to illustrate a clear cause-and-effect relationship. The term can be used to illustrate the reality of "legislated penury".