1.1Theorising Poverty
1.1.1 Concepts and Sociological Orientations of Poverty Studies
The Encyclopedia of Sociology (Villemez, 1992) reminds us that there is debate around the understanding and explaining of poverty. What is poverty? How it be measured? Whether it is a natural phenomenon or a symptom of a poorly ordered society?
According to Villemez, ‘poverty is a concept, not a fact, and must be understood as such. It is not like a demographic fact, but moral, ethical and political’ (p. 1525).
The word ‘poverty derives from the French word Pauvre meaning ‘poor’. It is a state of lacking material possessions, of housing or no means to support oneself.
Much sociological work has concentrated on the dichotomous notion of poverty: absolute
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The European Union defines social exclusion as ‘a process through which individuals or groups are wholly or partially excluded from full participation in the society in which they live’ (European Foundation 1995).
It is ‘a dynamic process, best described as descending levels: some disadvantages lead to some exclusion, which in turn leads to more disadvantages and more exclusion and ends up with persistent multiple (deprivation) disadvantages’ (ibid:). The definition of social exclusion includes the process of becoming poor, in which it brings agency in the analysis by defining social exclusion as socially constructed.
Multidimensionality is an intrinsic feature in social exclusion. For example, lack of material resources is both an outcome of social exclusion and a cause of
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• Who are the poor?
• Where do they live?
• What are their precise economic circumstances?
• Why are they poor?
Answers to these questions are crucial to an understanding of the poor and the way they relate to and benefit from government policies and programmes.
World Development Report 1990 defines poverty “as the inability to attain a minimal standard of living” (World Bank, 1990). The same report goes on to suggest that:
To make this definition useful, three questions must be answered, how do we measure the standard of living? And, having thus identified the poor how do we express the overall severity of poverty in a single measure or
Social inequality refers to the interpersonal practices in society that can harm or limit ones social status, class or social group. Raphael (2011) describes it as a “lack of power” and the inability to access resources (p.113). The outcome of social inequality leads to social exclusion, where people are denied the right to participate in society.
Before we can explain the causes of poverty, one must first define what poverty is. If you were to ask someone for their definition of poverty, you would get several different definitions. There has been much conflict in the United States over defining poverty, but according to Diana DiNitto (2007), poverty can be defined in six different ways. Poverty as deprivation, inequality, lack of human capital, culture, exploitation, and structure are the six different ways. When a family or individual does not have the adequate amount of income to meet all of their basic needs, they are described as being deprived. Poverty as deprivation explains that a family or individual is deprived when they are living below the standard of...
Social exclusion is the exclusion of an individual from the current social system, their individual rights and privileges. This is usually a result of a person living in poverty due to circumstances he or she has no control over, or their own human error. Becoming socially excluded can also be the result of the individual belonging to a minority social group. Social exclusion refers to individuals whom are excluded from certain aspects of social life such as employment and social relations. This can be due to reasons such as whether or not the individual would like to participate in social activities, or whether he or she is unable to participate in social activities for reasons which are beyond their control, such as a disability (Burchandt et al. 2002). Social exclusion can be a major problem, studies have shown that being socially excluded from a group/s in fact activates particular areas of the brain, areas which would usually only be activated by physical pain (Eisenberger et al, 2003). Not only can social exclusion have negative effects on an individuals mental health and wellbeing, but it can also cause exploitation, oppression and marginality. Social exclusion also prevents equality, fairness and social justice.
Poverty itself is a controversial and widely debated issue with a variety of opposing viewpoints. Despite differences in opinions on how poverty should be treated, the vast majority agrees that poverty is a problem plagues the nation on both economic and social levels. Economically, poverty affects everyone. As taxes are paid by the entire nation, poverty influences where our money goes and how it is spent. Socially, poverty affects families and individuals on an emotional level. Impoverishment affects happiness and health, the decisions people make, and most importantly the development of children. To best understand poverty, one must look at the issue economically and socially, and contextualize the numbers surrounding poverty as well as
In the world there are at least one billion children that are living in poverty. There is at least three billion people in the world that live on less than $2.50. (Shah, 2013) Poverty can be seen everywhere around the world. Carl and Belanger (2012) states that poverty happens when the distribution of wealth is not equally divided between all groups of people. Poverty in Canada is defined as poor quality of food, sleeping in poor quality housing, parks, or city streets, and on a daily basis it is difficult to make decisions on what is best for you and your family. Living in poverty will decrease your life span and health, and could lead to criminal offenses just to stay alive. Aboriginal people, immigrants from other countries, people with disabilities, single parents especially women, and injured workers are more susceptible to living in poverty. (Canada without Poverty, 2014) Research has shown that living in poverty is not based on the failure of an individual, but the failure in the government and elite systems around them. When the political and economic systems do not provide employment wages or social assistance benefits, it makes it difficult for the individual to get out of poverty living. Also when the public policy does not provide affordable living, child care, or health and social services for the individuals, it can leave the individual still in poverty. Through conflict theory, sociologists can determine the causes and effects of poverty. (Carl/Belanger, 2012)
Poverty is a social issue that has be a problem for humanity since the beginning of time. Poverty has been a consistent and ongoing problem throughout history all over the world (Rasheed, 2013). No matter what the society is like or the median salary inside that society there have always been people who are homeless and starving (Rasheed, 2013). Despite the United States being a modern, developed country we still struggle with poverty and unemployment (Rasheed, 2013). Every day there are people struggling to find food, clothing and shelter. This problem in society has various effects on different government institutions (Rasheed, 2013). The federal government measures poverty by the numbers (Rasheed, 2013). “In 2007, the federal “poverty line” was set at $16,530 for a family of three and $21,203 for a family of four (USCB) (Rasheed, 2013).” If a family makes less money a year than they can live on they are officially classified as poor (Rasheed, 2013). “According to the Census Bureau, about 12.3 percent of all Americans were living in poverty in 2006 (Rasheed, 2013).” That means there are 36 million people at or below poverty level in the United States (Rasheed, 2013).
Poverty can be defined as the state of being extremely poor. This means that a person has very little to no financial resources or provisions necessary for survival. It proves to be a serious issue that many families in the United States have to face on a daily basis. Poverty is a serious issue because it influences employment rates, which in turn hurts economic growth when the rate is low, and it also contributes to the number of Americans whom are actually homeless today. From a sociological point of view, poverty can be looked at using several perspectives such as the functional perspective, which shows how poverty exists to keep society up and running; the symbolic interactionism perspective, in which stereotypes come into play, showing
Poverty is a global epidemic that contributes to the deaths of millions each year. However, poverty is more prominent in some areas around the world than others. The Oxford dictionary defines poverty as the state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support, but it’s so much more. Poverty can be defined as being hungry, lacking shelter, being unable to go to school, being unable to see a doctor, or being powerless and having a lack of freedom. The reason behind the many descriptions of poverty is that poverty has many faces, and its definition changes depending on the place and time, however the effects of poverty on the poor are always the same.
Poverty is general scarcity or dearth, or the state of one who lacks a certain amount of material possessions or money. It is a multifaceted concept, which includes social, economic, and political elements. Poverty seems to be chronic or temporary, and most of the time it is closely related to inequality. As a dynamic concept, poverty is changing and adapting according to consumption patterns, social dynamics and technological change. Absolute poverty or destitution refers to the deprivation of basic human needs, which commonly includes food, water, sanitation, clothing, shelter and health care. Relative poverty is defined contextually as economic inequality in the location or society in which people live.
Whitty, G. (2001) Education, social class and social Exclusion. Journal of Education Policy, 16(4) pp 287-295.
The question is, what is poverty? Poverty is about not having enough money to meet basic needs of life, including food, clothing, and shelter. Nevertheless I believe that poverty is much more that not having enough money. The World Bank Organization describes poverty as, “Poverty is hunger. Poverty is the lack of shelter. Poverty is being sick and not being able to see a doctor. Poverty
Poverty, also known as the silent killer, exists in every corner of the world. In fact, almost half of the world’s population lives in poverty. According to the United States Census Bureau, there were 46.7 million people living in poverty the year of 2014 (1). Unfortunately, thousands of people die each year due to this world-wide problem. Some people view poverty as individuals or families not being able to afford an occupational meal or having to skip a meal to save money. However, this is not the true definition of poverty. According to the author of The Position of Poverty, John Kenneth Galbraith, “people are poverty-stricken when their income, even if adequate for survival, falls radically behind that of the community”, which means people
Social issues are problems in the society today that are described as wrong, widespread and changeable. A category of conditions that people believe need to be changed. Poverty is a serious social issue in the society today. According to Peilin (2012), poverty brings hardships to families and individuals as well as political thereby negatively affecting the social stability and social development and posing a severe threat to human security (p. 243). This paper focuses on poverty as a social issue in today’s society. First, it gives a succinct introduction of the social issue, and then describes how it fits into the field of sociology. It also evaluates the sociological theories and terminology that relate to the social issue. The section that follows evaluates what is known and unknown about the particular social issue. This is followed by a discussion regarding the value of sociological research into the issue determining the available or possible practical implications of the sociological inquiry. The information presented here is strongly supported by the concepts and theories derived from reliable sources.
What is poverty? Well, according to Webster's Third New International Dictionary, poverty is "lack of money or material possessions; poor." Two-thirds of the world's population fits this definition. I know that many times we think of being poor as not being able to buy the car we want or take the trip we can only dream about. However, being poor, living in poverty, hits a lot lower than that. For example, a resident of the country of Chad will only bring in $100 each year. Since many people can make more than that in one week, some in one day, can you imagine having the feed a family of five or six, or even a family of two, on only $100 a year? These are the conditions that exist in poverty-stricken countries.
Poverty is an issue dealt with throughout the world, but we are not all aware of its conditions. Poverty is a very serious problem around the world. Poverty is defined as the equality of poorness and impoverishment -- (the state of having little or no money and few or no material possessions). A question to ask ourselves is: “Should poverty be defined strictly in terms of monetary income, as opposed to some qualitative formula which takes into consideration styles of life as well as material possessions?” (Sheppard 13) Because there are so many different ways we can express the term poverty, maybe there should be a certain way we can determine poverty worldwide?