q2 cultural explanations

Question 1

culture of poverty

Answer 1

People are poor because they adopt a lifestyle with different norms and values to rest of society, poverty is a lifestyle choice
Oscar Lewis found that the lifestyle of the poor is different from other members in society and this lifestyle develops into a subculture with its own norms and values, shared in socialisation . Creates vicious circle of poverty
Subculture of poor can be seen on 3 different levels: Individual, family and community
Individual: The poor have attitudes of fatalism, helplessness and resignation, they accept their situation and don’t try to improve their position. Dependent on welfare benefits and have a restricted language code. Tend to live in present and always look for immediate gratification
Family: Life is dysfunctional as there is a lack of positive male role models, families are dominated by single mothers
Community: Marginalised and face social exclusion, denied access to essential services and areas of society

Question 2

culture of poverty ao3

Answer 2

Harrington: By the age of 7 they have absorbed the basic values and attitudes of their subculture and nit able to take advantage of opportunities
Ryan: Cultural explanations are ‘ideological smokescreens’ to hide injustices suffered by the poor. Simply blaming victims for the fault of others

Question 3

dependency culture

Answer 3

Supported by the New Right
Explanation states that benefits are too generous and that the poor need to take responsibility for their own situation
Welfare state was leading to culture of dependency, where benefits are too generous and act as a disincentive to the poor
Creates a poverty trap, those on benefits are better off not working as getting a job means their benefits will be stopped and they may be worse off in terms of overall income
Dean says the dependency culture has 3 key characteristics:
People will only work if they are given a lot more income than their benefits
A benefits culture exists in deprived areas, people are influenced by those around them
People are encouraged to be lazy because benefits are too generous and easy to obtain

Question 4

dc a03

Answer 4

A03: The idea of a dependency culture is a myth as everybody is dependent in society, eg businesses are dependent on customers