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Sociological theories of poverty
Sociological theories of poverty
Cultural causes of poverty
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Parsing out the influences of cultural and structural factors leading to differential behaviors among the poor and nonpoor is a difficult challenge for sociologists concerned with stratification and inequality. This is largely due to the fact that they appear to be so heavily intertwined. Structural and cultural factors reinforce each other in complex ways. Pervasive cultural elements such as ideologies and values are used to frame and interpret existing socio-economic structures and their effects on individuals. Structural forces such as access to resources such as information, education and employment shape cultural views and attitudes as well. STRUCTURAL AND CULTURAL FORCES Structural factors include the organizational and institutional forces in society that determine relative social position such as the prestige level of associations, roles and jobs, economic and labor market forces, technology and laws (Wilson 2009). Structural factors also affect access to resources such as housing and education. Cultural factors include pervasive narratives and interpretations as well as common understandings and applied meanings, within groups of people (Wilson 2009). Culture can be shared amongst varying size groups ranging from families to nations. Cultural sharing is generally limited to those who share a common physical space (Wilson 1996:66). Social interaction on the individual level leads to the sharing of cultural values, understandings and interpretations (Wilson 2009). Both structural and cultural factors have profound and complex effects on society, the individual and each other. The Relationship Between Structure and Culture The relationship between structure and culture is essentially reciprocal. Cultural changes... ... middle of paper ... ...rty and revenue; the detailed statistics of cities, towns, and counties; being a compendium of the seventh census; to which are added the results of every previous census, beginning with 1790. DC: U.S. Census Bureau. U.S. Misery Index. 2010. “The United States Unemployment Rate: Unemployment Rate figures obtained from the U.S. Department of Labor.” Web. 15 March 2013. http://www.miseryindex.us/urbymonth.asp?StartYear=1970-01&EndYear=2011-01&submit1=Create+Report Wilson, William Julius. 1996. When Work Disappears: The World of the New Urban Poor. New York: Random House, Inc. _____. 2009. More Than Just Race: Being Black and Poor in the Inner City. New York: W. W. Norton & Company Inc. Young, Alfred A., Jr. 2004. The Minds of Marginalized Black Men: Making Sense of Mobility, Opportunity, and Future Life Chances. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Ghettos, low-riders, hip-hop, rap, drugs and crime, it has got to be a Black man right? Saggy pants, unintelligible language, lazy, and the lists continue to both stereotype and describe Blacks. Do Black Americans perpetuate their own discrimination? Are Black Americans creating their own low status in society? Black people around the world have been hypnotized into believing all their failures in life are due to discrimination, but are they correct? Blacks are often their own worst enemies, often the cause of their own disasters, and many don’t see that until it’s too late, if ever. Discrimination and prejudice are imposed upon Blacks, often because the culture they live in is not “acceptable” to the dominant society. On the other hand, an understandable reason for Blacks actions is often due to unattainable opportunities towards the American Dream.
Staples, Brent. “Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space.” 50 Essays. Ed. Samuel Cohen.
Wilson, William J. More Than Just Race: Being Black and Poor in the Inner City. New York: Norton & Company, 2009. Print.
In his essay, “On Being Black and Middle Class” (1988), writer and middle-class black American, Shelby Steele adopts a concerned tone in order to argue that because of the social conflicts that arise pertaining to black heritage and middle class wealth, individuals that fit under both of these statuses are ostracized. Steele proposes that the solution to this ostracization is for people to individualize themselves, and to ‘“move beyond the victim-focused black identity” (611). Steele supports his assertion by using evidence from his own life and incorporating social patterns to his text. To reach his intended audience of middle-class, black people, Steele’s utilizes casual yet, imperative diction.
Shipler, David K. The Working Poor: Invisible in America (Vintage). Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. Kindle Edition, 2008.
There are many, many forces — physical, historical, cultural, and political — that shape and constrict the life chances of black males in the U.S. Some of these are longstanding legacies that may take generations to shift. But in other ways, the social, economic, and symbolic place of African-American men and boys is recreated and reinforced every day. In particular, public perceptions and attitudes toward black males not only help to create barriers to advancement within this society, but also make that position seem natural or inevitable. Among the most important mechanisms for maintaining (or changing) these perceptions are the mass media with their significant power to shape popular ideas and attitudes.
America’s working-class poor, especially those of color often feel neglected, inadequate, and deprived of hope. Mos Def demonstrates the distress of those living in poverty when he expresses, “ Working class poor: better keep your
Summers, Martin. The Black Middle Class and the Transformation of Masculinity. Chapel Hill: University of Carolina Press, 2004.
Kain, John F., “Housing Segregation, Negro Employment and Metropolitan Decentralization” Mathew Edel and Jerome Rothenberg, pp288-307.
Mount, Steve. “Constitutional Topic: The Census.” USConstitution.net. 3 Jan. 2011. Web. 31 July 2011. .
Brent Staples focuses on his own experiences, which center around his perspective of racism and inequality. This perspective uniquely encapsulates the life of a black man with an outer image that directly affects how others perceive him as a person. Many readers, including myself, have never experienced the fear that Staples encounters so frequently. The severity of his experiences was highlighted for me when he wrote, “It also made it clear that I was indistinguishable from the muggers who occasionally seeped into the area from the surrounding ghetto.” (135) Having to accept that fact as a reality is something that many people will never understand. It is monumentally important that Staples was able to share this perspective of the world so others could begin to comprehend society from a viewpoint different from their
Families and Living Arrangements. Us Department of Justice Census Bureau website. U.S. Census Bureau. March 2010.
Causes and Solutions of World Poverty Poverty is prevalent throughout the world around us. We watch television and see famous people begging us to sponsor a child for only ten dollars a month. We think in our own minds that ten dollars is only pocket change, but to those children and their families, that ten dollars is a large portion of their annual income. We see images of starving children in far away countries, and our hearts go out to them. But we really do not know the implications of poverty, why it exists, or even what we can do to help combat this giant problem in our world.
Social issues are problems in the society today that are described as wrong, widespread and changeable. A category of conditions that people believe need to be changed. Poverty is a serious social issue in the society today. According to Peilin (2012), poverty brings hardships to families and individuals as well as political thereby negatively affecting the social stability and social development and posing a severe threat to human security (p. 243). This paper focuses on poverty as a social issue in today’s society. First, it gives a succinct introduction of the social issue, and then describes how it fits into the field of sociology. It also evaluates the sociological theories and terminology that relate to the social issue. The section that follows evaluates what is known and unknown about the particular social issue. This is followed by a discussion regarding the value of sociological research into the issue determining the available or possible practical implications of the sociological inquiry. The information presented here is strongly supported by the concepts and theories derived from reliable sources.
Has anyone ever considered thinking about what the world is really going through? How many people don’t have the necessities in order to survive? If so, what are these people going through? Poverty is the state of one who lacks a standard or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions. Sometimes events occur that changes a person’s perspective on life. Poverty is one that can have a huge effect on not only one person, but also the people around him/her. Over half of the world is going through this tragedy and we, being the ones who created it, have the responsibility to end it.