@ahimel & PMcDonald: I just deleted a very long post since I don't want to start a debate here. All I will say is: read the
book I linked to. If you take the effort to dig through the very old-fashioned English you will find in there the true cause of poverty in this world!
This book will show you that poverty and the divide between the rich and the poor is simply an unavoidable side-effect of capitalism (of the concept of property to be precise) and that trying to end poverty without replacing capitalism is like trying to end smoke without putting out the fire.
I will try to restate what Mr. Proudhon has written in this book in a more concise version soon, until that time: Please read it!