Theories of Poverty PDF

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This worksheet examines the Functionalist and Conflict perspectives of poverty. It also considers the culture of poverty....

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THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES OF POVERTY The Individualistic Theory This theory suggests that the cause of poverty and inequality are rooted in the individual’s failings. The Individual deserves to be poor and so he is poor. The laziness of people causes poverty. Herbert Spencer’s theory of Social Darwinism is used to justify why people are poor. Spenser believed that the poor should be given no help at all. In his eyes, “help those who helped themselves”. They were after all engaged in an immoral style of life he argued so why should they be helped. Criticism of theory (a) There is no evidence to back it up in the slightest and is held only by those who are prejudiced or by those who pretend to believe it in order to uphold the capitalist system. (b) Most studies have found that the poor are more than willing to work, also, many of those in work can also said to be in poverty. (c) Blaming the poor for their poverty is like blaming the homeless on being homeless, rather illogical. Poor people no more want to be in poverty than homeless people want to sleep on freezing cold streets. Cultural Theory – The Culture of Poverty  This is a slightly more sophisticated version of the individualistic failing theory. This time it is not the individual that is to blame for their own poverty but the individual’s culture.  Their culture (their beliefs, values, attitudes and general patterns of behaviour and language) is what causes their poverty, or at least, what helps to keep them in their poverty.  Perhaps the most famous advocate, and the man who first came up with the idea, was Oscar Lewis an anthropologist working in slum areas, shanty towns, in South America.  Lewis (1965) observed these people in their environment and believed that they exhibited a different culture, a sub culture, to that of the rest of society. This he called a culture of poverty. The main characteristics of

this culture is that people held an attitude of fatality (they believed that it was hopeless to try and improve their situation)  Basically, he suggests that people in poverty have a different set of cultural values, which is why they are in poverty.  People in poor families show attitudes of resignation (there is not much you can do about your situation so why bother trying to change it) and fatalism (fate has decreed that you were meant to be poor, why fight it, it was meant to be). Therefore, if this is true, people in poverty will do little about their situation because they believe there is little point. This culture is then passed on to children and their children so that it becomes endemic, whole communities of poor people just accept their life and therefore remain poor.  A present time orientation (they lived for today instead of for tomorrow). As a result they were less likely to see school and education as a way out of their poverty; also, they were less likely to see the point in saving money. This he argued helped to keep the poor in their state of poverty. Criticism of theory: (a) The theory fails to explain how the poor became poor in the first place (b) Their culture is not the cause of their poverty but rather a representation of it (c) Those in poverty share the same cultural patterns as those who are not in poverty (d) there is evidence that poor people are aware of the state of poverty through their cultures. MARXISM  Marxist theories of poverty do not blame the poor for their poverty, nor do they blame their culture. Instead, they look for explanations in the structure of the society in question, in the economic arrangements present and in the functions that poverty performs for capitalism and the capitalist class.  To put it simply the reason for poverty and inequality lies in the marketbased capitalist economy and the fluctuation that all such economies periodically go through.

(a) Poverty is caused by capitalism. (b)Capitalism concentrates wealth in the hands of the oligarchy. (c) The rich have no interest in ending poverty. (d) By focusing on the poor, we are distracted from the real cause of poverty, capitalism. Critics of the Marxists say… (i)

It doesn’t explain why some social groups are more vulnerable to poverty than others.

(ii)

Capitalism has removed absolute poverty from advanced industrial nations.

(iii)

The solution of a socialist revolution would not be acceptable to many people.

FUNCTIONALISM For the functionalists, the poor are in some way less able and less talented than everyone else in society. These theorists believe that poverty is beneficial because it helps society to operate smoothly. Some specific functions of poverty include: (a) The poor can be compelled to perform the work that no one else wants to do. Poverty ensures that society's 'dirty work' will get done. Poverty provides a lowwage labour pool that is willing--or rather, unable to be unwilling--to perform dirty work at low cost. (b) The poor provide jobs for people who study the poor (including sociologists and psychologists), as well as for social welfare workers and much of the criminal justice system. (c) Having poverty encourages others to work hard so that they do not become poor (this is referred to as the Davis-Moore thesis). (d) The poor who are unemployed serve as a "reserve army of labour"; if labour makes too many wage demands on owners, the owners can replace their workers with the poor, who are desperate for work.

(e) The poor serve as scapegoats for social problems. The poor can be identified and punished as alleged or real deviants to uphold the legitimacy of conventional norms. To justify the desirability of hard work and thrift, for example, the defender of these norms must be able to find persons they can accuse of being lazy and spendthrifts. (f) The poor serve as culture heroes and as cultural artefacts. (Robin Hood) (g) Poverty helps to guarantee the status of those who are not poor. In every hierarchical society, there has to be someone at the bottom to hold up the rest of the population. (h) The poor aid the upward mobility of groups just above them in the class hierarchy. Many persons have entered the middle class by providing goods and services to the poor. (i) The poor help to keep the aristocracy busy as providers of charity. Critics of functionalism say… (i)

This justifies social inequality.

(ii)

It assumes that people are motivated by the need for money.

(iii)

It doesn’t really consider the ill-effects of poverty on the health of society.

(iv)

It assumes that social mobility is possible for the poor.

Weberian Theory Weberians believe poverty is caused by a weak market position where groups have few skills to sell. They further suggest that the solution to poverty is redistribution of wealth. This view, however, ignores the power capitalists to control ideas and wealth. It also seems to blame the victim for poverty.

POVERTY IN THE CARIBBEAN  Poverty in the region averages roughly 38 percent of the total population, ranging from a high of 65 percent in Haiti to a low of 5 percent in the Bahamas.  Excluding Haiti, approximately 25 percent of the total population is poor. These estimates place the Caribbean close to a world aggregate average of poverty in developing countries.  Income distribution is skewed, though slightly less so than the average for Latin America.  The poor include the elderly, children, the disabled, small-scale farmers, unskilled workers, indigenous populations, and in some countries, female-headed households and the underemployed or unemployed, many of whom are school leavers who have few skills with which to enter the labor market. Why is the Caribbean prone to poverty? (a) the prevalence of natural disasters in the region (b) our history of plantation slavery and the effects of colonialism (c) our growing dependency on foreign cultures and imports (d) the rise of matrifocality in the region (e) high rates of crime and violence (f) growing brain drain – emigration of our brightest (g) few manufacturing sectors REDUCING POVERTY IN THE CARIBBEAN – STRATEGIES (a)

Providing employment opportunities within the Caribbean.  Reduce unemployment

 Create industries through expanded government public work and greater industrialization efforts.  Providing training institutions to implement skills within the population to meet the demand for these industries.  Make local materials, which are presently being exported, as the raw materials within these industries.  Most governments have tried to promote entrepreneurial skills among the young people within their countries. This is done through the offering of training and loans. (b)

Control the high birth rate within the Caribbean  The Modernization theory has argued that for a country to reduce poverty, there is the need to reduce its “population explosion”.  It is argued that it is necessary to adopt family planning strategies as those being used in developed countries.

(c)

Address the problem of crime and violence.  People in poverty are more prone to deviant behaviours.  Strengthening enforcement and neighbourhood crime prevention programmes  Create programmes for the highest risk group—young men—such as programmes that provide training in conflict resolution, improve selfesteem, and involve youth in the community.

(d)

Gaining financial aid from developed countries.  Jamaica, for example, has sought financial support from USA, Britain and Canada.  Regional co-operation among small states in the region.

(e)

Development of basic health and education that will have the largest benefit for the poor.  Investments in education and health are essential to improving living standards, and raising skills levels and productivity which will be critical to the competitiveness of Caribbean countries.  Increasing access to early childhood education  Improving the primary and secondary level through teacher training, ensuring culturally relevant, low-cost education and resource materials in all schools, and increasing the extent and quality of student assessment

 increasing access at the secondary level with curriculum reforms to eliminate some of the inequities that currently exist, and  facilitating training or retraining opportunities in partnership with the private sector for those who do not have adequate skills for employment. Schools had also expanded their role in counseling students for entering the labour market, and in teaching coping and socialization skills which they may not receive at home. This may help to prevent some youth from becoming involved in gangs, crime, drugs or from early pregnancies. (f)

Establishing poverty monitoring and evaluation tools.  Such efforts will ensure that appropriate information is available for analyzing poverty problems, tracking them over time, and formulating and implementing strategies to address them.  This can also help to reduce wastage, determine the beneficiaries of various programs, and the effectiveness of policy decisions.

(g)

Improving the agricultural sector  This is evident in Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago.  The agricultural sector has great potential for creating jobs and is thus a priority for Caribbean governments.  There is evidence that there are improved roads, water, electricity and infrastructures in rural area in an effort to promote agriculture.  There are also efforts to build schools, police posts and marketing facilities alongside these areas to make the occupation more attractive.

PAST PAPER QUESTIONS CAPE 2013 The impact of poverty is felt more by women and children than by any other group. Discuss this statement with reference to poverty alleviation policies in a named Caribbean society. [25 marks]  Define poverty  Identify the groups that are prone to poverty in the Caribbean – women, people of poor socio-economic activities, indigenous people, children, elderly  Consider the feminization of poverty  Women are prone to poverty because they are likely to experience career interruptions, they still have low paying work, the matrifocal families in the Caribbean, the burden of taking care of children, men are still the head of Caribbean society  Poverty alleviation strategies could be improving the educational and employment opportunities for women, giving women more power in the workplace, ensuring women become entrepreneurs, emphasizing on family planning  Consider why children are prone to poverty  Children lack wealth, subjected to the care of adults, the prevalence of matrifocal household in the Caribbean, lack of paternal figures, intergenerational poverty, culture of poverty being recycled.  Poverty alleviation strategies could be family planning, promoting women in the workplace, improving access to quality education at the pre-school, primary and secondary level, monitoring poverty amongst children through various poverty tracking tools  Are other groups more prone than women and children like the elderly who do not generally have much savings and poor pension schemes.  Conclude that there are several groups in the Caribbean that are prone to poverty. Women and children are prone to poverty for various reasons and steps should be taken to alleviate the level of poverty amongst them. CAPE 2014 Discuss the extent to which the Feminization of poverty argument is relevant to understanding poverty among women in the Caribbean. [25 marks]

- Similar discussion as above

CAPE 2015 Poverty is functional to society. Discuss this statement with reference to the Caribbean region. Give examples to illustrate your answer. [25 marks] - Define poverty - Consider the level of poverty in the Caribbean - Outline the Functionalist perspective of poverty  Poverty is beneficial to all society  Davis-Moore thesis  Role allocation  Ensure that people are rewarded for their hard work and sacrifice  Provide employment for people, e.g. social workers and people who study the poor - Criticize the functionalists using the conflict and interactionist perspectives  Poverty leads to the exploitation of the working class  Justifying Inequality  Capitalism is the cause of poverty  Society cannot provide for everyone  Poverty has a lot of ill-effects on society – suffering, crime and violence, immorality etc...