'Assess the view that the attitudes and the behaviour of the
poor themselves are responsible for poverty’
In looking to explain poverty, it is relatively easy to conceive
that people’s independent choices and actions reflect their
position in society. The close association made between
poverty and individual behaviours means that it can sometimes
be difficult to disentangle poverty from related issues such as
unemployment or receipt of welfare. Blaming those in poverty
due to attitude and behaviour is relatively ambivalent, the main
theories that project this ideology have contradictory elements
which implements all-round uncertainty when associating this
concept with people’s positioning in society.
From a new right approach, positioning of a person ultimately
comes down to their contribution and hard work ethic to
society in order to sustain a financially stable lifestyle without
reliance on the welfare. The New Right Approach stresses that
universal benefits such as child benefit and pensions are a
huge drain on the economy, arguing that the demand for
these benefits is constantly rising while the government is
struggling to supply to those who are in need. Due to this
predicament, a new right perspective suggests that the
privatisation of the welfare state would encourage individual
responsibility in order for people to wean themselves off of
benefits which would alter the attitudes of those relying on
the government and push them to seek employment rather
than living from universal funding. Charles Murray’s theory
would support the new right perspective as he believed that
those who are in poverty have themselves to blame as they
choose to behave a certain way which dictates where they’re
positioned in society due to their actions. In addition to this,
Murray argued that many have taken advantage of the overly
generous government to conceal oneself from actually
seeking employment and working for their earnings instead of
exploiting the welfare state and undermining the government.
Furthermore, many are in favour of the ideology that those
who are in poverty are positioned in that situation due to
attitude towards employment because it is ultimately up to
them whether they have the willingness to endorse into any
job opportunities offered to them. On the contrary, the
approach does not take into consideration the individuals’
poor themselves are responsible for poverty’
In looking to explain poverty, it is relatively easy to conceive
that people’s independent choices and actions reflect their
position in society. The close association made between
poverty and individual behaviours means that it can sometimes
be difficult to disentangle poverty from related issues such as
unemployment or receipt of welfare. Blaming those in poverty
due to attitude and behaviour is relatively ambivalent, the main
theories that project this ideology have contradictory elements
which implements all-round uncertainty when associating this
concept with people’s positioning in society.
From a new right approach, positioning of a person ultimately
comes down to their contribution and hard work ethic to
society in order to sustain a financially stable lifestyle without
reliance on the welfare. The New Right Approach stresses that
universal benefits such as child benefit and pensions are a
huge drain on the economy, arguing that the demand for
these benefits is constantly rising while the government is
struggling to supply to those who are in need. Due to this
predicament, a new right perspective suggests that the
privatisation of the welfare state would encourage individual
responsibility in order for people to wean themselves off of
benefits which would alter the attitudes of those relying on
the government and push them to seek employment rather
than living from universal funding. Charles Murray’s theory
would support the new right perspective as he believed that
those who are in poverty have themselves to blame as they
choose to behave a certain way which dictates where they’re
positioned in society due to their actions. In addition to this,
Murray argued that many have taken advantage of the overly
generous government to conceal oneself from actually
seeking employment and working for their earnings instead of
exploiting the welfare state and undermining the government.
Furthermore, many are in favour of the ideology that those
who are in poverty are positioned in that situation due to
attitude towards employment because it is ultimately up to
them whether they have the willingness to endorse into any
job opportunities offered to them. On the contrary, the
approach does not take into consideration the individuals’
