The nature, existence and persistence of poverty in contemporary society.
• Definitions and measurements of poverty including absolute, relative,
subjective poverty and social exclusion.
Absolute poverty: Charles Booth. A term that is universally applied to all individuals who
cannot fulfil the essentials that are necessary to live. Rowntree used the budget standards
approach to measure poverty by working out the minimum income required to buy the items
needed to be healthy. The poverty line was drawn at the income needed to meet the costs of
a basic diet, basic level of housing and clothing of minimum quality.
Evaluation:
- Enables comparison of extent of poverty in different societies and in same society at
any one time
- One size fits all approach, ignores variations e.g. cost of living in London.
- Basic needs change over time and it doesn’t account for this.
- People living above the poverty line are not immune from deprivation.
Relative poverty: Townsend. A person lacks material resources to voluntarily take part in
those activities that the rest of society accepts as normal routine. Measured using the
relative income measure. HBAI states that the poverty line is 60% of the median British
household income. Measured by Mack and Lansley using Breadline Britain (consensual
approach). Conducted a public survey where public decided what is deemed necessary. 3+
of those that achieved a consensus are deemed poor.
Evaluation:
- Shows that poverty varies over time and between social groups.
- Changes in line with national prosperity
- What constitutes normal or average experiences of the rest of society is a very
subjective judgement.
Subjective poverty: how people perceive their situation in terms of finances and material
needs in comparison to others in society.
Evaluation:
- Inclusive definition as it takes into account people’s subjective experience.
- Inaccurate as people can feel poorer than they actually are.
Social exclusion: A lack or denial of access to the kinds of social relations, customs, and
activities in which the great majority of people share. Measured by looking at poor housing,
low income, poor health, high likelihood of being a victim of crime, educational difficulties,
lack of leisure activities, disorganised neighbourhood. Social Exclusion Unit set up by Labour
gov 1997 to reduce it.
• Structural, individual and cultural explanations, including feminist,
functionalist, Marxist, New Right, Social Democratic and Weberian, on the causes of
poverty and why it continues to exist in contemporary society.
Feminist: Poverty will exist until the patriarchy is abolished and gender equality Is achieved.
There is feminisation of poverty through being excluded from the public sphere to fulfil
domestic caring duties, being excluded from the economic sphere by being given low-paid,
temporary and part-time work, and exclusion in the workplace through segregation (pay gap,
higher positions).
, Functionalist: Poverty is inevitable for those who don’t take opportunities to achieve through
meritocracy. Three functions of poverty are it provides workers for the worst jobs, it creates
jobs e.g., police and social work, and it provides a line for others to measure success.
Marxist: Causes of poverty lie within the economic system of capitalism. The only solution is
social revolution where needs rather than profit determine the allocation of resources.
Capital and profit always put before people’s interests. This system of exploitation is
maintained through the construction of relations of production which benefit the bourgeoisie
only. The state of false consciousness undermines people’s ability to improve the system.
New Right: Focusses on the role of individuals in poverty and argues that some people have
become too dependent on the welfare state. To solve this the welfare state needs to become
more challenging.
Social Democrat: Believes that poverty is structural in nature. This perspective argues that
you need lots of financial investment from the government into the welfare state to bring
about a reduction in poverty. This may mean policies such as heavy taxation.
Weberian: Looks at how people have different access to power, but not just based on social
class. Accepts the idea of an underclass but uses understanding of social class to explain
people's inability to secure well paid work.
• Definitions and measurements of poverty including absolute, relative,
subjective poverty and social exclusion.
Absolute poverty: Charles Booth. A term that is universally applied to all individuals who
cannot fulfil the essentials that are necessary to live. Rowntree used the budget standards
approach to measure poverty by working out the minimum income required to buy the items
needed to be healthy. The poverty line was drawn at the income needed to meet the costs of
a basic diet, basic level of housing and clothing of minimum quality.
Evaluation:
- Enables comparison of extent of poverty in different societies and in same society at
any one time
- One size fits all approach, ignores variations e.g. cost of living in London.
- Basic needs change over time and it doesn’t account for this.
- People living above the poverty line are not immune from deprivation.
Relative poverty: Townsend. A person lacks material resources to voluntarily take part in
those activities that the rest of society accepts as normal routine. Measured using the
relative income measure. HBAI states that the poverty line is 60% of the median British
household income. Measured by Mack and Lansley using Breadline Britain (consensual
approach). Conducted a public survey where public decided what is deemed necessary. 3+
of those that achieved a consensus are deemed poor.
Evaluation:
- Shows that poverty varies over time and between social groups.
- Changes in line with national prosperity
- What constitutes normal or average experiences of the rest of society is a very
subjective judgement.
Subjective poverty: how people perceive their situation in terms of finances and material
needs in comparison to others in society.
Evaluation:
- Inclusive definition as it takes into account people’s subjective experience.
- Inaccurate as people can feel poorer than they actually are.
Social exclusion: A lack or denial of access to the kinds of social relations, customs, and
activities in which the great majority of people share. Measured by looking at poor housing,
low income, poor health, high likelihood of being a victim of crime, educational difficulties,
lack of leisure activities, disorganised neighbourhood. Social Exclusion Unit set up by Labour
gov 1997 to reduce it.
• Structural, individual and cultural explanations, including feminist,
functionalist, Marxist, New Right, Social Democratic and Weberian, on the causes of
poverty and why it continues to exist in contemporary society.
Feminist: Poverty will exist until the patriarchy is abolished and gender equality Is achieved.
There is feminisation of poverty through being excluded from the public sphere to fulfil
domestic caring duties, being excluded from the economic sphere by being given low-paid,
temporary and part-time work, and exclusion in the workplace through segregation (pay gap,
higher positions).
, Functionalist: Poverty is inevitable for those who don’t take opportunities to achieve through
meritocracy. Three functions of poverty are it provides workers for the worst jobs, it creates
jobs e.g., police and social work, and it provides a line for others to measure success.
Marxist: Causes of poverty lie within the economic system of capitalism. The only solution is
social revolution where needs rather than profit determine the allocation of resources.
Capital and profit always put before people’s interests. This system of exploitation is
maintained through the construction of relations of production which benefit the bourgeoisie
only. The state of false consciousness undermines people’s ability to improve the system.
New Right: Focusses on the role of individuals in poverty and argues that some people have
become too dependent on the welfare state. To solve this the welfare state needs to become
more challenging.
Social Democrat: Believes that poverty is structural in nature. This perspective argues that
you need lots of financial investment from the government into the welfare state to bring
about a reduction in poverty. This may mean policies such as heavy taxation.
Weberian: Looks at how people have different access to power, but not just based on social
class. Accepts the idea of an underclass but uses understanding of social class to explain
people's inability to secure well paid work.
