Homelessness Analysis

Food, water, clothing, and shelter are among the very basic and most important needs that a person requires in order to survive. When a person is homeless, they struggle to obtain all four of these basic need on a daily basis. There is not one single cause of homelessness. There are number of factors that can cause or contribute to a person becoming homeless. Some of these contributing factors include poverty, physical and mental illness, substance abuse, and domestic violence. In the following paragraphs we will look at homelessness through the conflict and functionalist perspectives. *Add summarizing line here.

Homelessness is not a simple to define term. While some may view homelessness as living on the street, this a very narrow definition

There are number of factors that can cause or contribute to a person becoming homeless. Some of these contributing factors include poverty, physical and mental illness, substance abuse, and domestic violence (Lane 2014).

In conflict theory, society is in a constant struggle for power. A person or a group is in conflict with others to get a societies resources. Those who are homeless do not have access to these resources. Power and class structure is important to understand conflict theory. Those at the top of the class system have the bigger share of societies resources. They are the ones who have the power. Those who have very little of societies resources are at the bottom and have now power. Karl Marx, an influence on conflict theory, would view this in terms of a capitalist system.Homelessness is a result of the class structure. The ruling class, or bourgeois have control of the labor force. "The labor and the product only help add to the wealth or power of the employer." (Marx & Engels 1963) Poverty is caused by capitalism, wealth and power belong to those in control of the capitalist system. The homeless are those who suffer the most from this class