1. Theories of Poverty

2. The Culture of poverty
Oscar Lewis developed this theory “the culture of poverty”
He states that being in Poverty tends to create a way of living that becomes a culture of its own
This culture is “learned, shared and socially transmitted as a behaviour of a social group”
What does Oscar Lewis mean by this?

3. Social Segregation
Oscar Lewis saw people living in this culture as a separate part of society
He stated that the urban poor ”make little use of institutions such as banks, hospitals, museums and art galleries”
In this way, Lewis argues that the poor segregate themselves from mainstream society
Can you think of any reasons for this low participation?

4. Lewis argues that once established, the culture of poverty
“tends to perpetuate itself from generation to generation because of its effects on children
By the time slum children are aged 6 or 7 they have absorbed the values and attitudes of their culture
And they are not psychologically geared to take full advantage of increased opportunities which may occur in their lifetime”

5. The cycle of poverty and deprivation
In this way Lewis would state that the culture of Poverty perpetuates through the generations
A CYCLE of Poverty is produced from which each generation finds difficult to escape
Besides the learned cultural norms what other barriers are there to prevent poor children from improving their future lifestyle?

6. Activity Look at the flow chart on page 317 in your text book
Draw your own diagram of the cycle of deprivation

7. Social Exclusion
Social exclusion is a much broader concept than poverty
It refers to being “shut out” or excluded from mainstream society
Like Oscar Lewis’ theory of social segregation, social exclusion describes divisions in society
Unlike Lewis, this theory claims that social exclusion PREVENTS people from participating in society

8. Situational Constraints
This theory states that the poor are trapped into poverty because of their situation
It rejects that it is the culture of poverty that constrains them
Once poverty is removed then the poor will have no difficulty in seizing opportunities in society
It states that the poor share the values of society as a whole
they do not have separate cultural values that are at odds with society

9. New Right views
New Right theorists such as Charles Murray would disagree
He takes the work of Lewis further by stating that Britain now has an “underclass”
This group has different attitudes and values to the rest of society
He states that the underclass are the “undeserving poor” and that they have no wish to support themselves

10. Welfare Dependency
According to Murray, the undeserving poor remain in poverty because the welfare state encourages them to depend on state provision
State provision is too generous according to Murray and creates “welfare dependency”
This in turn does not provide any incentive for the “feckless poor” to provide for themselves

11. The concepts of the “underclass” and “undeserving poor” are highly controversial
Most sociologists would question whether these groups exist at all
These terms could be seen as labels that “blame the victims” for their own misfortunes
They could be seen as stigmatising people and distancing them from society

12. Unemployment
Unemployment can be seen as a central issue in understanding the causes of poverty
An economic recession means an decrease in employment rates and an increase in poverty
Unemployment is imposed upon people rather than it being a lifestyle choice
Benefits can be seen as too low.
By increasing benefits poverty may be reduced

13. Summary Question Essay question (12 marks)
To what extent does the culture of Poverty explain why people live in poverty in Britain today?