Sociological Views of Poverty
Sociological Views of Poverty
Michelle Williams-Thomas
Sociology 101
Professor Yelena Gidenko
February 12, 2012
At the beginning of the twentieth century, the most common reasons people died were accidents or communicable diseases like pneumonia. Today, millions die each day from poverty. How can poverty be defined? And what is the difference between absolute and relative poverty? In the paper I will address these issues along with sociological views of poverty. Poverty is a social issue that affects the world. Poverty causes many to be malnourished and die at a young age, it is a cause of deviant behavior such as crime, and also causes the poor to be marginalized from society and have little voice in public and political debate causing individuals to remain in poverty. Poverty is a condition of people who lack adequate income and wealth. Whereas absolute poverty is individuals live without adequate food, clothing, water or shelter. In other words the little money they make is not enough to provide these necessary materials of life.
The United Nations defines absolute poverty as living on less than $1 a day, which equates to over one billion people, or about one–fifth of the world's population, falling in that category. The poorest part of the world is now in Sub–Saharan Africa. According to Thomas Malthus the amount of land, food, and water was fixed; there could be no more of these natural resources than what was available. As the population increased in size, it would eventually outstrip the environment's ability to sustain them (Malthus, 1798). This would result in poverty, misery, and famine for the peoples of the world. His premise has become known as the Malthusian trap. In
2009 over 1 billion people, or 16% of the world's population, were at risk of starvation, and that number has increased steadily in recent years (Thurow & Kilman, 2009).
While some people say that lack of food is the
Michelle Williams-Thomas
Sociology 101
Professor Yelena Gidenko
February 12, 2012
At the beginning of the twentieth century, the most common reasons people died were accidents or communicable diseases like pneumonia. Today, millions die each day from poverty. How can poverty be defined? And what is the difference between absolute and relative poverty? In the paper I will address these issues along with sociological views of poverty. Poverty is a social issue that affects the world. Poverty causes many to be malnourished and die at a young age, it is a cause of deviant behavior such as crime, and also causes the poor to be marginalized from society and have little voice in public and political debate causing individuals to remain in poverty. Poverty is a condition of people who lack adequate income and wealth. Whereas absolute poverty is individuals live without adequate food, clothing, water or shelter. In other words the little money they make is not enough to provide these necessary materials of life.
The United Nations defines absolute poverty as living on less than $1 a day, which equates to over one billion people, or about one–fifth of the world's population, falling in that category. The poorest part of the world is now in Sub–Saharan Africa. According to Thomas Malthus the amount of land, food, and water was fixed; there could be no more of these natural resources than what was available. As the population increased in size, it would eventually outstrip the environment's ability to sustain them (Malthus, 1798). This would result in poverty, misery, and famine for the peoples of the world. His premise has become known as the Malthusian trap. In
2009 over 1 billion people, or 16% of the world's population, were at risk of starvation, and that number has increased steadily in recent years (Thurow & Kilman, 2009).
While some people say that lack of food is the
References: 1. Block, P., Ph.D; Balcazar, F., Ph.D; Keys, C., Ph.D (2002) Race, Poverty, and Disability: “Three strikes your out”! Or Are You? Social Policy Vol.33 Issue 1 pp.34-38, 5p Retrieved January 30, 2011 from EBCOHOST 2. . Poverty. (2006). In Cambridge Dictionary of Sociology. Retrieved from http://www.credoreference.com/entry/cupsoc/poverty 3. Vissing, Y. (2011). Introduction to Sociology. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu 4. The systemic causes of poverty in the urban core and how to change it: Part Two Retrieved from the Cincinnati Examiner (OH) February 10, 2012 From News Bank 5. Life, Liberty and Property: Retrieved from Watertown Examiner February 11, 2012 From News Bank 6. Poverty absolute and relative www.unc.edu/depts/econ/byrns_web/.../Poverty_RelAbs.htm 7. www.watchtower.org