The authors claim that poverty existed in the world since time immemorial. Recently however, we can observe the growing differentiation in Western societies: there are sparse groups with very high income and multiplicity of the “new poor” — the unemployed as well as these who are employed in a second-rate, low-paid jobs. The situation on this difficult labour market is further worsened by the influx of migrants as the army of the unemployed in-waiting. The increase in the number of the new poor in the globalizing world poses new problems for the politicians. Novel ideas are needed to ameliorate both the economic condition of the Third World countries — the place of origin of many among the new poor, as well as the situation of the new poor (called sometimes the Fourth World) in the First World countries.