WPW - Topic 1

Question 1

What is the definition of absolute poverty?

Answer 1

Lacking the basic necessities for survival.

Question 2

What is relative poverty?

Answer 2

Lacking the minimum necessities to partake in society.

Question 3

What was the research carried out by Charles Booth on absolute poverty ?

Answer 3

Charles Booth
— Conducted street surveys (1889-1903)
— Focused on Inner London
— Found that 31% were living in poverty
— Based off an income level he has set to determine whether they were in absolute poverty or not

Charles Booth used his own categories to determine this for example, ‘lower class, vicious semi-criminal’ or ‘mixed, some comfortable others not’

Question 4

What research did Seebohm Rowntree carry out on absolute poverty?

Answer 4

Seebohm Rowntree
— Profoundly affected by Booth’s work
— Conducted poverty surveys in York in 1901,1941,1951
— Sought to find whether citizens of York could purchase basic food items in order to survive
— As a result, he created a basket of goods as a measurement of absolute poverty.

Some of these foods included: bread, tea, butter, porridge

Question 5

What are the measurements of absolute poverty?

Answer 5

1. Basket of goods
   — Rowntree
   + Basic foods needed to survive
2. Budget standards approach
   — Bradshaw
   + The minimum income required to buy the items needed to be healthy
3. Poverty line
   — EU
   + Those above the poverty line meet the budget standards.
   + Those below = absolute poverty

Question 6

EVALUATION: Absolute poverty

Answer 6

> It is difficult to identify objectively what basic subsistence needs are

> It ignores the reality of the lives of the poor.
— eg. The poor are often unable to buy at the cheapest princes as they can only afford to buy in small quantities (which is not as good value as buying in bulk

> There is no clear subsistence minimum
— This varies between societies and between groups within the same society
— eg. An unskilled manual labourer doing heavy physical work will require more calories each day than an office worker; minimum nutritional and housing needs will be different in hot or cold climates.

> It ignores the social needs, cultural expectations and value judgements, and treats people as if they were nothing more than biological machines.

> Charles Booth’s research can be criticised as unreliable since it is difficult to replicate his study as a result of him using his own criteria.
— What gives him the authority to put people in categories which he made up?

> Budgetstandards were first introduced in an attempt to get away from minimum nutrition-based criteria. Translating nutritional standards into a basket of goods inevitably introduces social needs e.g. ensuring there is no isolation, utilities, clothing etc.

> The budget standards approach has allowed us to move forward from nutrition-based measures e.g. Can someone provide a standard of living norms for their given family type.

Question 7

What was Peter Townsend’s research on relative poverty?

Answer 7

Peter Townsend (1979)
— Identified issues with the use of the absolute definition. Therefore, he found that poverty goes beyond the ‘basic necessities’.
— This is because poverty is closely linked to inequality, rather than anything else.
— As society changes, the definition of poverty must reflect these changes.

Townsend refers to societal changes such as: changes in the economy and standards of living.

Question 8

What are the measurements of relative poverty?

Answer 8

1. HBAI (Households Below Average Income)
   — Labour gov. (1997-2005)
   + Those below the 60% median income
   + Mainly used to determine child poverty
2. Deprivation Index
   — Townsend
   + Those who meet the indicators of deprivation based on what is required to be a part of society at that time.
3. Consensual Approach
   — Gordon (2000) Mack and Langley (1993)
   + Those who could not meet 3/22 items listed on an agreed census on basic needs.

Question 9

EVALUATION: Relative Poverty

Answer 9

STRENGTHS
> It recognises poverty as a social construction
— It recognises that measures of social deprivation are influenced by how other members of society define what is normal standard of living in any society.
— More than just nutritional needs but also what may be expected of them in a society.
— eg. whether they have money for transport, whether they’re able to buy close ones gifts for their birthdays etc.

> It recognises that what constitutes poverty can change between societies, and over time in the same society.

> It challenges the notion of there being universal concept of what constitutes poverty.

> The HBAI index uses official data and figures which provide us with an objective view on current patterns in the UK. It allows us to draw comparisons to identify areas of need for the government to get involved.

> Townsend recognises that minimum diets do not recognise different calorific needs of people eg. builder vs office worker.

WEAKNESSES
> It is not an indicator of poverty but simply of social inequality
— No natter how rich a society becomes there will always be those who lack things that most people might want and have.
— Relative poverty will always exits as long as inequality exists
— Peter Townsend is often criticised as being preoccupied with the inequality rather than the actual poverty.

> It is ridiculed with value judgements as to what constitutes a reasonable standard of living.

> It is difficult to establish what counts as acceptable standard of living and what cultural needs should be included.
— Everyone will have their own way to view the world and have a different culture so it is difficult to pin point where to draw the line.

Question 10

What are Cultural Explanations?

Answer 10

These theories explain social behaviour by exploring norms, values and attitudes of individuals social groups.
— Often known as victim-blaming theories

Question 11

What is meant by The Culture of Poverty?

Answer 11

Oscar Lewis (1950s)
+ Mexico & Puerto Rico

— The poor have a ‘culture of poverty’ with its own norms and values and way of life
— This separates the poor from the rest of society
— The culture is transmitted from generation to generation through socialisation
— this ‘victim-blaming’ approach was developed by writers of the New Right

Question 12

According to Oscar Lewis what are the features that the poor have?

Answer 12

1. Fatalism - The view that ‘it is what it is’ and the belief that nothing can be done to change their situation. They believe that they don’t have ultimate control over the direction that their life goes in.
2. Resignation - They make little effort to change their situation or not taking opportunities to escape poverty when they arise.
3. Lack of future planning
4. Marginalisation - Not identifying themselves with the mainstream society.

Question 13

What is the idea of Dependency culture?

Answer 13

David Marsland (1989)
— Poverty arises from the generosity of the welfare state.
— This is because the New Right sees many of the poor as undeserving
— Therefore, those that depend on the welfare state become lazy and undermine the production of wealth.

Question 14

What is meant by the ‘underclass’?

Answer 14

Charles Murray (1984)
— Charles Murray suggests that there is a class that is beneath the working class.
— This new class emerged after the ‘Nanny state’
— This particular class socialise their families to be dependent on the state

Question 15

What do the different perspectives say on cultural explanations?

Answer 15

> MARXISTS:
— No-one chooses to rely on benefits.
— Poverty is not a ‘lifestyle choice’
— The whole idea of so-called ‘welfare dependency’ blames the poor for their situation, ignoring how they are made poor because of the the actions of the rich.

> SOCIAL DEMOCRATS:
— Yes, but only because the welfare dependent have no choice because of their poverty traps them on benefits.

> NEW RIGHT:
— Yes, there is a underclass which values idleness, immoral behaviour and crime, and they fund this lifestyle by depending on welfare handouts.

Question 16

EVALUATION: Cultural Explanations of Poverty

Answer 16

LIMITATIONS:
> There is no clear cut evidence that children inherit their parents’ attitudes.
— Rutter and Madge (1976) found that ‘At least half of children born into disadvantaged homes do not repeat the pattern of disadvantage in the next generation. Over half of all forms of disadvantage arise anew into each generation.’
— Bladen and Gibborns (2006) found that poverty did get passed on between generations, with children growing up in poverty more likely to be poor ad adults. But they emphasise that parental attitudes is just one factor, other include lack of skills and employment opportunities.
— Shildrick et al (2012) studied families in Glasgow and Middlesbrough who had experienced extensive worklessness. They found that very few (0.5%) households with two generations who had never worked, and no evidence to support the idea of a culture of worklessness or a dependency culture.

> Blaming victims rather than the cause
— Cultural explanations of poverty tend to blame the poor for their own poverty, and imply that if only the poor changed their values, then poverty would disappear. However, in most cases it is economic circumstances, not attitudes, which made them poor in the first place.
— Cultural explanations are convenient ones for those in positions of power, as they put the blame for poverty on the poor themselves.
— As Marxists Westergaard and Resler (1976) put it: ‘the blame for inequality falls neatly on its victims’.

> They are based on myths of the welfare state
— Baumberg, Bell and Gaffney (2013) suggest that the New Right view of the dependency culture and an underclass generated by the generosity of the welfare state is based on ‘a constant polluting flow of misinformation’ and a series of myths spread by government and the media.

Question 17

What is meant by a Structural explanation of Poverty?

Answer 17

These theories explain social behaviour by exploring social institutions (eg. the economic system, the job market, the education system etc.)

Structural explanations suggest that poverty is the result of inequalities of power and wealth in a capitalist society.
— Instead of victim blaming, Structural and Material explanations look at how society causes poverty; it is not an individual choice.

Question 18

What are the two main explanations within structural explanations?

Answer 18

1. The poverty trap
   — Social Democratic Approach
2. Cycle of deprivation
   — Coates and Silburn (1970)

Question 19

What is meant by the Poverty Trap?

Answer 19

> Social Democratic Approach

— A political ideology that reflects the New Labour Party
— While they are not communists, they do believe that the welfare state can be used as a safety net.
— This is because Social Democrats believe that those who are in poverty become trapped.

Poverty persists because the welfare state is not generous enough to life people out of poverty.
+ The poor get caught in a poverty trap by an inadequate, means-tested benefit system from which they find it hard to escape: they may find it worse off if they get low-paid jobs, as the benefits they lose are worth more than the money they gain through employment.
+ This inadequacy of the welfare state creates a underclass of disadvantaged groups (eg. the elderly retired, lone parents, long-term unemployed, low-paid, disabled and long-term sick) whose poverty excludes them from taking part in society to the same extent as the non-poor.

This view of the underclass is different from that of Charles Murray and the New Right, as it is not the attitudes of poor people which are to blame for their poverty, but circumstances beyond their control (eg. unemployment, low pay, illness or disability).

Question 20

What is meant by the Cycle of Deprivation?

Answer 20

> Coates and Silburn (1970) - Nottingham

They emphasise the way in which the poor are trapped in poverty and how these circumstances are all connected to make a vicious cycle.

Poverty is cumulative, in that one aspect of poverty can lead to further poverty
— eg. child born into a poor family may have poor quality housing and diet. This may then cause ill-health, absence from school, educational underachievement and consequently low-paid job or unemployment and therefore poverty in adult life.

Question 21

EVALUATION: Structural Explanations

Answer 21

> MARXISTS:
— Poverty is inevitable in a capitalist society because of the unequal structure of society and the inequalities in the distribution of wealth, income and power.
— The poor (proletariat) remain poor because they are exploited by the rich (bourgeoisie).
— The bourgeoisie pay the proletariat very low wages to maximise their profit (surplus value).
— The proletariat suffer from false class consciousness and think that their wages are fair and reasonable due to what they have been taught by the ruling class ideology.

> FEMINISTS:
— Women are more likely to be in poverty and that this can be explained by the patriarchal society which means that men dominate and women are subordinate.
— For example, the gender pay gap still exists in 2016 - women are paid around 18% less than men, and this gap widens when women have had children.
— there are still only 7 women out of 100 bosses heading up companies on the London Stock Exchange.

> FUNCTIONALISTS:
— It creates jobs (eg. social workers, probation officers and police officers etc.)
— It provides a workforce to do the menial / dirty / dangerous jobs in society that nobody else wants to do (eg. waiters and bar staff).
— It provides an incentive to other (work hard, end up like them).
— It makes sure people want to become pilots, surgeons etc. otherwise why go to university and get debt and work that hard unless you will reap the rewards?
— Poverty helps the economy (eg. out of date food, last season clothes, old cars).

> INTERACTIONISM:
— The poor remain poor because they lack the necessary skills and power to succeed in the labour market.
— There is high demand for low-paid jobs and low-demand for high-paid jobs because of educational differences.
— For example, millions of people could stack shelves at Tesco, only a handful of people can perform open heart surgery.
— Therefore competition for low-paid jobs in the labour market is high, and therefore people are willing to accept low wages, because if they don’t somebody else will do the job instead.