There has been a proliferation of calls for social intervention to more adequately taken into account the current configuration of poverty both in Quebec and elsewhere. For it is still too often the case that social service interventions are aimed more at increasing than in controlling the resources of the underprivileged. Given that the idea of controlling resources recurs to economic development, this article examines approaches to economic development through the lens of the empowerment of individuals and collectivities in order to identify some of the stakes entailed by the new intervention strategies, such as the accumulation of assets by individuals and community economic development as a strategic option for a renewed approach to social service in the area of poverty.