Sociologists explain poverty in a number of different ways. Some sociological explanations of poverty say that the problem is with the attitudes and values of the poor, while other explanations say that the problem is with society and the economy. One explanation of poverty is the culture of poverty, which refers to the attitudes and values that people in poverty have. Poor people think that they can't change their situation and will always be poor, so they tend not to aim high and don’t make sacrifices as they feel that they won't achieve much. They also live for the moment (present gratification).
These people are known to live in poverty. Relative poverty is where people are having a better life and they have enough money to buy things like food, clothing, get a sheltered place (Giddens 2006). Poverty is measured within our society there is a ‘Poverty Line’ which determines how poor a person is (Cohen 2007). Absolute poverty is determined is based on the price of the basic goods needed for human survival in a particular society. Individuals or households whose income falls below the poverty line are said to live in poverty.
The social disadvantage and poor health of Indigenous Australians is well documented. The barriers to the well-being of Indigenous Australians have deep-seated associations to historical factors and social disadvantage. Health is a reflection of the socio-economic conditions of an individual and their community known as the Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) (Marmot, 2010, p. 3). The SDoH are acknowledged as perpetuating social disadvantage and are directly linked to the health inequalities experienced by Indigenous Australians (Baum, Bentley & Anderson, 2004, p.23; Reilly et al., 2011). The invasion by the British in 1788 marked the beginnings of more than 200 years of Indigenous Australian's struggles with a history of oppression, trauma,
Examine the view that poverty is beneficial to society Poverty is the social and economic state of either living below a particular standard or average. It can be defined in two ways, the first being absolute poverty which is the inability to afford the five basic essentials that are warmth, clothing, food, shelter and water. A positive for this definition of poverty is that it allows us to make comparisons with other cultures. On the other a hand a negative for this definition of poverty is that many people would feel that a lack of any of these essentials is destitution not poverty. The second way poverty can be defined is as relative poverty which is the inability to afford the average standard of living for a particular society.
Extreme poverty, according to Sachs, is defined as the inability to acquire the essentials for survival. This includes food, shelter and potable drinking water. Those who endure moderate poverty are just meeting the requirements for physical survival. Poverty in America assumes the character of “relative” poverty, in which those who earn below the national average income struggle to acquire quality housing, quality food and quality education (Sachs, 20). Though the immediate consequences of poverty in America may not be as severe as in other parts of the world, poverty in America still has a negative effect on millions and poses an extremely serious issue for legislators, administrators and other concerned Americans.
This report gave a detailed look into official statistics revealing the clear line of inequalities that ran from the richest to the poorest in society. The fundamental finding of the report was that the death rate of those men in social class V was twice of the men in social class I. Additionally, individuals in lower classes were experiencing worse health than in the 1950s, giving proof that the improved living conditions of the working class had not made much of a difference to their health status. Furthermore, it was found that the manual classes made less use of the healthcare system available to them, despite needing it far more. There is research to suggest there is a link between socio-economic status and the use of health care systems. A study into the attendance at antenatal clinics of various social classes found a link between social inequality and attendance; the women from poorer classes were found to have fewer visits (Rowe & Garcia, 2003).
People living in the most deprived areas have much greater mortality rates and lower life expectancy (Jones and Douglas 2012). In terms of health inequalities the most important factor is the wider “upstream” social determinants of ill health. (Orton et al 2011). The factors deemed social determinants of ill health include adverse living environments, poor education, stress, social exclusion. (Marmot et al 2008 cited in Joyce and Bambra 2010).
In social science poverty is defined in two ways; absolute poverty concept based on lack of fulfilment of basic human needs such as food shelter, clothing and other things redeemed essential Giddens(2006, p342); and relative poverty describes inequality or a gap in people’s incomes and accepted standard of living. Peter Townsend(1979) defined poverty as individuals, families, and groups which lack resources to obtain the types of diet, participation in activities , living conditions and amenities which are customary, or at least commonly encouraged or approved in the societies to which they belong (Blackburn,1991 p9). Social developments centring on the structural origins of poverty date back to the revolutionary study of Webbs in the Minority Report on Poor Law 1909.The era of anti-poverty policies have since then exterminated destitution in the British society, regardless persistence periods of economic growth and established welfare state, poverty, deficiency and high levels of income inequality still exist (Coats, Johnson &Hackett (2012, p9). Assessments of anti-poverty policies have been deemed to be controversial and argumentative regarding the definition and the measurement of poverty, and the general public misunderstandings about the causes of poverty. Some of today’s politicians say the “deserving and undeserving” poor is significant to the Victorian era hence this undermines the effort
Why are some groups more likely to experience Poverty? There are two types of poverty: absolute and relative. Absolute poverty is the state or condition of having little or no money, goods and means of support. Generally it is a serious lack of means for a proper existence. This is mainly seen in third word countries and rare in the UK.
Set A: What is the significance of the series title Unnatural Causes? People don’t often see the correlation between racism, poverty, and inequality when these types of things greatly impact the income of many lives. It has been researched that poverty is one of the most consistent predictors of depression because it creates stress while attack other sources of social support. Many ethnic minority groups are trapped in poverty due to racism. It exists in ways such as employment and education.