When discussing the issue of poverty and ‘the poor’, it is crucial to identify and explore the forces that lead to the social exclusion of the poor rather than focusing on the characteristics of these individuals. By focusing on these forces, it becomes easier to identify and explore possible ways to lessen poverty, empower the poor and alleviate social exclusion whereas focusing on the individual will not create a solution. No one person is born poor, although they may be born into a poor family or community, and therefore the focus should be on the society and the forces which created poverty that affect the lives of these people and cause them to be socially excluded. There are many forces which contribute to the exclusion of poor people from society, some of which include but not limited to Power, Class, Gender and Racial discrimination etc. These causes goes on to having negative such as poverty, Unemployment, inequality, Poor Health, homelessness, lack of education and training, poor social welfare etc. on the lives of these group of people. Clearly, there are quite a number of factors that could be explored when discussing the issue of social exclusion of poor people within the society. This essay will however, only explore two of these factors including their effects and also look at some sociological views on the issue. According to the Oxford English Dictionary class is defined: “as a system of ordering society whereby people are divided into sets based on perceived social or economic status”. This definition suggests that social class is a system whereby people within the society are divided into groups based on how much wealth and privileges they have or do not have, meaning; the rich and the poor. Social class remai... ... middle of paper ... ...egarded as equal partners in development cooperation. For example, in some societies, girls are not sent to school to get an education; they either remain at home with their mothers learning how to clean, cook and make the home or in some societies, be sent off to learn trades or forced to do unskilled labor work to support the home. Subsequently, these girls will grow to become women and with very little or no skills to make a living, they will be forced to rely on their husbands, they would have no place in the bigger society and as a result, the cycle of poverty will continue. Having discussed some of the forces which contribute to the exclusion of the poor and the effects of these forces, this essay will conclude that it is more important to identify the forces that exclude poor people from the society than to focus on the characteristics of the poor. Would you?
Although poverty has minimized, it is still significant poverty which is characterized by a numerous amount of things. There are two types of poverty case and insular. “Case poverty is the farm family with the junk-filled yard and the dirty children playing in the bare dirt” (Galbraith 236)Case poverty is not irretraceable and usually caused if someone in the household experiences “ mental deficiency, bad health, inability to adapt to the discipline of industrial life, uncontrollable procreation, alcohol, some educational handicap unrelated to community shortcomings” (Galbraith 236).Case poverty is often blamed on the people for their shortcomings but on some levels can be to pinpoint one person's shortcomings that caused this poverty. Most modern poverty is insular and is caused by things people in this community cannot control. “The most important characteristic of insular poverty is forces, common to all members of the community, that restrain or prevent participation in economic life and increase rates of return.
(p1) Broadly speaking, class is about economic and social inequality… (p6) We have a tendency for groups of advanced people to congregate together, and groups of disadvantaged people to congregate so that inequalities persist from generation to generation.
Having only recently permeated the public and political lexicon, there are few debates that evoke such passion as that of the underclass. Karl Marx tabled the idea of the lumpen proletariat, yet in the modern era, the concept did not take hold in Britain until 1989. Today, the debate focuses on whether frictional forces create a continuum of inequality, or whether a defined underclass does exist. The question asks if 'poor people' belong in a separate underclass, which is a vague definition. There will always be 'poor people', but whether or not this automatically qualifies them as a separate underclass is tenuous at best. Even the most radical proponents for the existence of the underclass stop short of declaring all those below the poverty line as 'the underclass'. This essay will analyse the arguments from either side of the debate, looking at definitional issues, the undeserving and deserving poor and structure versus agency. Overall, it will be argued that Murray’s classification does not hold for the majority and that frictional forces mean the poor are part of a continuum of inequality.
Class can be defined as a way society separates people into groups based on their socioeconomic
Poverty is a potential outcome for everyone. It’s sneaky and many people fall victim to it every year. No one believes that they have the potential to fall into debt, but it can happen through a string of bad luck, time running short, and other possibilities that can’t be controlled. People who are struggling with difficulty believe that there is no way out because no one will help them. However, there are ways for us, as a society, to help those who are short on income receive the help that they need. Many of the impoverished are thought to be slackers, addicts, or self-destructive to their lives. Society can help each other by dismembering the stereotypes given to people who are underneath the “Poverty Line” that they used as wedges between the classes. Labels given to those who’re poor have nothing to do with who they are as humans.
Social class is defined as 'people having the same social or economic status' (Wordnet). In contemporary American society, social class is based on the amount of money and property you have and also prestige. Prestige is given to a person through the line of work or the family that they come from. For example, upper-upper class member Jennifer Lopez reeks of prestige not only because she has millions of dollars in her bank account, but she has very expensive luxuries, cars, and houses.
Everyone knows what the word poverty means. It means poor, unable to buy the necessities to survive in today's world. We do not realize how easy it is for a person to fall into poverty: A lost job, a sudden illness, a death in the family or the endless cycle of being born into poverty and not knowing how to overcome it. There are so many children in poverty and a family's structure can effect the outcome. Most of the people who are at the poverty level need some type of help to overcome the obstacles. There are mane issues that deal with poverty and many things that can be done to stop it.
Most people of the society still blame the poor for their own predicament. They believe that "if there is a will there is a way". However, they do not think about their government that might had made bad decisions and policies that could actually harm successful development. This causes of poverty and inequality are usually less discussed and often neglected. We must recognize the effects poverty could have on the society and seek ways to create better understanding and resolve the issue before it is too late.
There seems to be an increase in poverty in the United States and there are so many theories behind why this might be a problem. It seems as if Society as a whole wants to blame this social “condition” on Society itself. I believe that the problem of poverty lies within the actual individuals that are experiencing poverty. There are a few reasons why people experience poverty. They are as follows: One, the liberal welfare programs that were started in the 1960’s, two, individuals lack the characteristic of power and individuality, three, anti-social behavior and the idea that poverty passes from one generation to the next.
Torkildsen (2011) stated that the nature and definition of 'social class' is generally regarded as being problematic, as class not only relates to income or occupation but also upbringing and family background. "social class is often regarded as grouping on the basis of occupation, which is 'socioeconomic class' rather than social class" (Torkildsen, 2011 p.49). divine
When one thinks of poverty often the mental picture that comes to mind is of single parent welfare, dependent, women and unemployed, drug-addicted, alcoholic lackadaisical men. The children are often forgotten. The impact of poverty, the destruction of crime and stigmatization of the violence on the children is more devastating and irreversible than the miseducation and illiteracy that most often companies poverty. The implication is not the poverty can not be overcome but that the cycles of teenage pregnancy, welfare dependency, and dropping out of high school continues and are hard to break. The badges of poverty are just as addictive and capitiving as any disease such as alcohol or drugs.
The world contains a lot of societies, cultures, and classes. Each household belongs to some social class that represents their level of education, their work position, and their financial status. These different classes have created a conflict between people. It fills rich people's minds with the thought that poor people are criminals, and that conflict ended up with creating poverty. The authors Gilbert, Kahl, Magnet, and Gans are discussing the important causes and reasons that created poverty in comparing and contrasting these points with each other.
The class system places the individual in the social system based on his achieved status. This status is earned or chosen. This includes educational level, careers, and spouses.
What is social class? It is a term used to describe a large group of people who share similar social or economic positions in society based on wealth, income, job status, education, skills or power in the political sphere. Class is not just about what you own or earn but also who you know. Class affects not only how we feel about ourselves, but how others judge and consequently treat us. Those at the top of the class structure, the elite, have more power than those in the middle and even more power than those at the bottom who are of lower class. Education is a highly valued commodity in our world. In his commentary on society Freud, claimed, “ No feature, however, seems better to characterize civilization than its esteem and encouragement
In conclusion, sometimes actions take place that changes a person’s outlook on life and as you can see poverty is one that can have a huge effect on not only one person, but also the people around him/ her.