Empowerment has been much discussed in relation to poverty reduction, but unfortunately not much by philosophers. The purpose of this chapter is to begin filling that gap by arguing for three claims. First, empowerment can be conceived either as a process or as an end. As a process it involves reversing the powerlessness that subjects people to poverty; as an end it involves not merely expanding choices but becoming freer to shape one’s life for the better. Second, conceptions of poverty, like poverty-reduction programs themselves, may be friendly or hostile to this kind of freedom, and we should be wary of those that are hostile. Third, philosophers (like John Rawls) who frame poverty as an injustice should explicitly advocate empowerment as a necessary part of social change to reverse this injustice; Rawls did not do so, even though there is much in his philosophy that would seem to favour empowerment implicitly.
