Undoubtedly, it may happen that a man who is really poor does not suffer from the discrepancy between his means and the needs of his class, so that poverty in the psychological sense does not exist for him; just as it may also happen that a wealthy man sets himself goals higher than the desires proper to his class and his means, so that he feels psychologically poor. It may be, therefore, that individual poverty—insufficiency of means for the ends of a person—does not exist for someone, while social poverty exists; and it may be, on the other hand, that a man is individually poor while socially wealthy.

DEFINE: Distinguishes individual poverty (insufficient means for one's own ends) from social poverty (discrepancy relative to one's class), showing the two can diverge.

DEFINE: Distinguishes individual poverty (means vs. personal ends) from social poverty (means vs. class needs), showing the two can be independent.

Georg Simmel, on individuality and social…, loc. 439