Oscar Lewis Culture Of Poverty

The gap between the rich and the poor is widening ' this is a reality that many societies in our world are experiencing today. As a result, we are forced to wonder what is happening in each of these groups that is leading to the growing inequality. We can assume that those who are wealthy will do pretty much everything they can to remain in that category. Can we assume the same for the poor? Are those that are faced with poverty behaving in such ways that perpetuate their low status? The culture of poverty thesis, as defined by anthropologist Oscar Lewis, locates poverty within an individual or group’s values, beliefs, and behaviours. This essay will discuss and critically evaluate Lewis’ thesis. It has proven to be applicable in certain societies;
Unstable marriages often constitute families, which explains the subculture’s high divorce rates. Mothers and children are abandoned and soon become matrifocal families, where households are headed by women. Children receive inadequate education, and many members are virtually illiterate. Individuals may be fatalistic, and experience feelings of helplessness, dependence, and inferiority, as well as an attitude of “living for the present.” Once this subculture has been formed, poverty is perpetuated and these characteristics are transferred to future generations through socialization. One criticism of the culture of poverty theory calls attention to the fact that it is not applicable in every cultural and societal context. Lewis attempted to distinguish between the culture of poverty and poverty itself. He argued that there are many different kinds of poor people who experience many different degrees of poverty. However, the culture of poverty was used in reference to the way of life that stems from the poor’s social isolation. Lewis gave 4 historical examples of different societies to further illustrate this distinction: hunter-gatherer tribes, the Indian caste system, Eastern European Jews, and Cuba under
Essentially, Lewis associated the rise of the culture of poverty with countries in the early stages of industrialization, capitalism and colonialism. Another criticism of the culture of poverty concept arises from those who claim that their studies do not provide evidence to support it. Lewis inspired a flood of research around the world, and his hypotheses were tested empirically. The various studies reached a range of conclusions, yet many agreed that the culture of poverty does not exist, as there are just as many differences in values and behaviours among the poor as there are between the rich and the poor. Some interpret the culture of poverty as being constructed from a collection of stereotypes that have evolved into mainstream thinking. They claim that there is no evidence that indicates that the deprivations of racial minorities, delinquents, and the poor are a result of constraints imposed upon them by culture. Finally, the culture of poverty theory is directly opposed by the situational theory, which locates the genesis of poverty in economic and social structures of society rather than in the value orientations of individuals or groups. Lewis and Miller argue that the culture of poverty expresses certain attitudes in reaction to a lack of opportunity and low