Term Paper on "Poverty in America the Causes"

Term Paper 16 pages (4892 words) Sources: 14 Style: APA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Poverty in America

The causes of poverty in America

Introduction common definition of poverty is as follows; "Poverty in its most general sense is the lack of necessities. Basic food, shelter, medical care, and safety are generally thought necessary based on shared values of human dignity" (Bradshaw, 2006). However, as Bradshaw and many others point out, the definition and understanding of poverty is never simple and that the term poverty is relative to the differential needs of various societies and individuals. "... what is a necessity to one person is not uniformly a necessity to others. Needs may be relative to what is possible and are based on social definition and past experience..." (Bradshaw, 2006).

This view of poverty is aligned with an understanding social and cultural needs, aspirations and values.

The above perception of the term poverty is also instructive in relation to the important question of causation. Poverty is an aspect that appears to a greater or lesser extent in all modern societies. However, the causative features of this phenomenon are variable and there are often very different views about what creates the blight of poverty in any one society.

In contemporary sociology, there is a tendency to view poverty as a result of the dynamics, structure and stratification systems in solidity and culture. This view is countered by the assertion that poverty is an individual and not a social concern and that its cause lies in a personal lack of the work ethic and effort on the part of individual.

Both these opposing views will be discussed in this study. The study will focus on the causative aspects and element that functions within American society that can be ascribed to the phenomenon of poverty. The importance of this topic is emphasized by the disparity between rich and poor in developed and industrialized countries like the United States, where, according to many pundits, poverty should not exist to the extent that it does.

Background and statement to the problem

Poverty is one of most endemic and discussed problems in the modern world. As Rank, Yoon & Hirschl (2003) state, there are few causes that have succeeded in generating so much discussion as human poverty in society. (Rank, Yoon & Hirschl, 2003 p. 3) the Catholic Charities 2006 Policy Paper, Poverty in America a Threat to the Common Good emphasizes the extent of this problem in the Unites States, with the fact that 37 million people - about 12.6% of the population - live below the official federal poverty level. (Poverty in America: A Threat to the Common Good. 2006) the problem of poverty is also emphasized by the view that the current measurements of poverty are severally misrepresented, because of the inadequate methodology used to measure poverty. (Poverty in America: A Threat to the Common Good. 2006) at the center of this debate is the issue of causality of poverty and the poor.

Furthermore, the issue of poverty and its relationships to the emerging 'Third World' is one that is at the forefront of modern sociological and political discourse. This has also related in many interpretations of the causes of poverty. From one perspective, poverty is seen as a result of social forces, cultural and class categories and the larger economic imperative in capitalistic society. On the other hand the causes of poverty are ascribed by some to individual efforts and the work ethic, or rather the lack of these aspects.

The situation with regard to poverty and the assessment of poverty is particularly problematic in the United States. While the United States is believed to be the wealthiest country in the world with citizens who enjoy comparatively high prosperity, yet the degree of poverty in the country is extremely high. (Midgley, 2004, p. 215).

However, many experts state that this image of general prosperity does not concur with reality. Statistical data also shows that while people in the United States have a high standard of living, they also show that there are decided and marked inequalities in income and wealth, with an increasing problem among minorities. (Midgley, 2004, p. 215)

The problem is seen from one perspective as having an individual rather than a social cause. This reasoning is founded on various ideologies of individual freedom. For example, Robert Lampman, a key economic adviser to President Lyndon Johnson in 1971, predicted that poverty in America would be eradicated by 1980. (Iceland, 2003, p. 1) Contemporary theorists and commentators see predictions such as these as naive. As Iceland, (2003) remarks it was evident as early as the 1970s when recession and the oil crisis affected the economy, that optimistic views of poverty eradication would not prove to be true. (p.1)

This leads to various problem and questions that concern the central thesis of this study; such as, why does poverty remain so pervasive?; is poverty unavoidable?; are people from particular racial and ethnic backgrounds or family types inevitably more likely to be poor?; and what are the future predictions for poverty in the country? (Iceland, 2003, p. 1) the central overarching aspect that relates to all of these issues is the understanding of the causative facets of poverty in the United States.

3. Research questions for paper: (1-2 sentences)

The fist research question that acts as the fulcrum around which thus study will develop is the search for the reason or reasons for poverty. The answer to this question will include the perception of the problem from various vantage points and theoretical trajectories. Secondly, to what extent is poverty a result of social structure and to what extent can it be ascribed to individual factors? Rather than being a result of economic forces within in the capitalistic system, poverty is, as some contend, the result of a lack individual and personal effort. This is a central aspect that will be focused on in the analysis and understanding of this problem in the United States.

4. Rationale

The rationale of this study is based on the fact that poverty is seen in many different lights and from various, and often contradictory, perspectives. However, at the same time the fact of poverty and poverty increase in America and in many other areas of the world is a reality that cannot be denied and which has social as well as political implications. It is suggested that the causes of poverty are strongly linked to various social and economic facets of society and that they are strongly linked to politics and governmental policies.

The consensus among many sociologists and scholars in other disciplines is that it is simplistic and even erroneous to assume that poverty is the result only of individual failings. Therefore, the theories pertaining to the social and economic construction of poverty and wealth should be taken into account.

Consequently, the negative results of poverty highlight the necessity of understanding the full dynamics and dimensionality of the causes of poverty. Therefore, the focus of this study will be on ascertaining and analyzing the causes of poverty though a comprehsive and integrated assessment of the literature available, and also taking into account various theoretical stances and assertions about this phenomenon.

3. Theoretical and conceptual framework

Both individualist and structuralist, as well as deconstructive, theories of the causes of poverty will be explores in this study. While the relevant classical and formal view of sociological theory will be taken into account, there will also be a focus on more appropriate and contemporary theoretical perspectives on the subject.

The theories and trajectories of various Marxist perspectives on poverty will form an important part of the theoretical concepts of this study. This will also include theoretical aspects such as base and superstructure and ideology and alienation as the pertain to the study of the causative factors of poverty.

Other theoretical stances that will be explored will include urban ecological theory, which was a popular theoretical school of thought in the 1900s. Urban ecological theories also investigate the effect of social disorganization and poor neighborhoods. (Curley, 2005) However this school of thought has been criticized for ignoring aspect such an economic market forces. (Curley, 2005)

Theories such as the "culture of poverty," which examine the norms and behavior patters of the poor and identifies this group as a subculture of the larger society, will also examined. This viewpoint also refers to the manifestation of low aspirations among the poor in the society. (Curley, 2005) However, this theory has also been criticized from not taking into account the structural aspects that are related to poverty causation.

Other theoretical stances that will be examined in relation to poverty include social capital theory. This strand point views poverty from the perspective of social and cultural aspects of human behavior. (Staveren, 2003)

It also includes the economic dimensions and implications of poverty. These theories will be examined in relation to the information that they shed on the causes of poverty.

4. Literature review

The literature on this topic is extensive and covers a wide ranger of issues, as well… READ MORE

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