most western poverty is of the spiritual kind

One of the critical causes of those symptoms is the fact we no longer
have to see the direct repercussions our purchases have on the people,
environment and animals they affect. The degrees of separation between
the consumer and the consumed have increased so much that we're
completely unaware of the levels of destruction and suffering embodied
in the stuff we buy. The tool that has enabled this separation is money.

If we grew our own food, we wouldn't waste a third of it as we do today.
If we made our own tables and chairs, we wouldn't throw them out the
moment we changed the interior decor. If we had to clean our own
drinking water, we probably wouldn't contaminate it.