To be poor is to lack something. Most often, this is said to be a lack of income.

But at the same time, it has also long been admitted that the deprivations of the poor go far beyond monetary considerations. Their well-being is impacted by deprivations in nutrition and sanitation, in shelter and clothing, in health services, education and social security, in secure employment and credit access. When such basic goods and basic services are lacking, the capabilities of the poor to conduct their livelihoods remain stunted; their chances to lead dignified, and productive lives, elusive.

Yet ultimately, as some development thinkers contend, all deprivations of basic needs can ultimately be framed as a deprivation of choices, opportunities and freedoms among the poor and the marginalized. By scouting out the most pressing deprivations that they endure, and by fostering the right conditions by which the necessary goods and services can eventually be delivered to them, it is widely hoped by advocates, campaigners and policymakers alike that the poor can be released from their cycles of difficulty and unfreedom.