We aim at questioning the various concepts of poverty and "social issue" in the liberal tradition, and their typical ways of confrontation, in the context of the classical liberalism in the nineteenth century, of the keynesianism, in the twentieth century and of the neo-liberalism from the current crisis of the capital. Doing so, we offer a reflection concerning aspects related to a historical and critical characterization of poverty and "social issue". Finally, we question the ways of reducing social inequality, through compensatory policy in the current context.
Poverty; Social issue; Inequality
