The appeal to poverty fallacy is committed when it is assumed that a position is correct because it is held by the poor. The opposite of the appeal to poverty is theappeal to wealth.
There is sometimes a temptation to contrast the excesses, greed, and immorality of the rich with the simplicity, virtue, and humility of the poor. This can give rise to arguments that commit the appeal to poverty fallacy.
The poverty of a person that holds a view, of course, does not establish that the view is true; even the poor can sometimes err in their beliefs.
Example
(1) The working classes respect family and community ties.
Therefore:
(2) Respect for family and community ties is virtuous.
This argument is an appeal to poverty because it takes the association between a position and poverty as evidence of the goodness of that position. There is, however, no necessary connection between a position being associated with poverty and its being true, and so the argument is fallacious.