This expose of poverty the world over reveals its shocking extent, the forms it takes, and its results. It probes the origins of poverty in attitudes and ideologies, norms and structures, and explains how statistical techniques and government subterfuges can hide poverty's real extent. It examines privatization and globalization as the most recent and widespread causes of poverty and looks at the divisive impact of the market-driven economy on medical services, education and social welfare. It illustrates international, national and local efforts to reduce or eliminate poverty, and considers the prospects for a drastic reduction in worldwide poverty in the future.