...definition of that poverty, but Adam Smith's description of basic necessities as "whatever the customs of the country renders it indecent for creditable people, even of the lowest order, to be without" seems to cover Sockett s intention and may even lie behind his own definition of the standards for...

...shifting attention from "commodities which are indispensably necessary for the support of life" to "whatever the custom of the country renders it indecent for creditable people ... to be without."13 The ambiguity generated around the concept of needs and what was required to...

...Schieber points out, quoting Adam Smith, concepts of minimal need are relative. Hence "necessaries" are "not only the commodities which are indispensably...creditable people, even of the lowest order, to be without" (1997: 271). 7. Weaver 1999, p. 191 and table 5.1. For example, the normal retirement age in the United...

...of commodities, incomes and resources', and he cites Adam Smith in l776 in support of the mixed bag: 'By necessaries I understand not only the commodities...indispensably necessary, for the support of life, but what ever the custom of the country renders it indecent for creditable people, even the lowest order,...

...explicitly relative terms. In The Wealth of Nations he writes, 'By necessities I understand not just commodities which are indispensably necessary for the support of life, but whatever the custom of a country renders it indecent for creditable people, even of the lowest order, to be without.' Karl...

...thrill is gone." This basic principle is not new. In 1776, Adam Smith wrote in The Wealth of Nations, "By necessaries I understand, not only the commodities...people, even of the lowest order, to be without." But today there's a new twist. Schor believes that the weakening of community bonds ended the practice...

...contained furniture that assured the degree of comfort to farm families that Adam Smith defined as "not only the commodities which are indispensably...people, even of the lowest order, to be without." But while the material living standard of people as well as expectations about it were rising in the...

...other point is that 'the ability to go about without shame' is 'complex', that is 90 Smith writes, 'By necessaries I understand not only the commodities...country renders it indecent for creditable people, even the lowest order, to be without. A linen shirt, for example, is, strictly speaking, not a necessary...

...perception in general. As early as 1776, Adam Smith recognized the cultural-related character of necessity: "By necessaries I understand not only the commodities...indispensably necessary for the support of life, but what ever the custom of the country renders it indecent for creditable people, even the lowest order,...

...need, when it cannot be relieved otherwise. This concept should be broadly defined. 'By necessities as I understand not only the commodities which are indispensably necessary for the support of life'. TAX POLICY AND REFORM wrote Adam Smith. 'but whatever the custom of the country renders it indecent...