nature, existence and persistence of poverty

Question 1

define and differentiate absolute and relative poverty

Answer 1

• absolute poverty means lacking essentials for survival (Rowntree’s early studies)
• relative poverty means lacking the resources to participare in the norms of society
  Townsend developed a Relative Deprivation Index, measuring how many people lacked access to activities or possessions considered normal in society

Question 2

what is the ‘culture of poverty’ thesis?

Answer 2

• Oscar Lewis argued the poor internalise values such as fatalism, dependency and immediate gratification
• Lewis studied Mexican and Puerto Rican communities and found intergenerational cycles of poverty due to a learned helplessness culture
  AO3: Lister argues it ignored structural inequality, which leads to victim blaming

Question 3

what is the New Right view of poverty?

Answer 3

• Charles Murray argues welfare encourages laziness and single-parent dependency- rise of the ‘underclass’- Murray argues council houses to teenage mums acts as a peverse incentive
• Murray linked single-parent families and youth crime to a lack of male role models and sate support for ‘undeserving’ groups

Question 4

what is the Marxist view of poverty?

Answer 4

• poverty is inevitable under capitalism
• Marx: the proletariat are exploited for surplus value- poverty is functional for capitalism
• Field: welfare policies often serve capitalism by subsidising low-wage work and keeping workers dependent

Question 5

what is the Social Democratic view of poverty?

Answer 5

-poverty results from unequal opportunities and can be reduced through state intervention and redistribution
- Beveridge: Beveridge report- identifies five ‘giants’ (want, disease, ignorance, squalor, idleness) to be tackled by the welfare state
- introduction of the NHS, free education, and social housing aimed to reduce inequality and improve life chances

Question 6

what is the Functionalist view of poverty?

Answer 6

-functionalists see poverty and inequality as necessary to ensure the proper functioning of society through role allocation and motivation
- Durkheim: work creates social solidarity and collective conscience, the division of labour binds people together in interdependent roles
- Davis and Moore: social stratification is necessary, high rewards for difficult roles motivate the best individuals to fill them
- Gans: poverty serves positive functions for society, such as creating jobs and a labour reserve