CIA 1

Contemporary Social Problems

POVERTY: A SOCIAL PROBLEM
Submitted to: Dr Niharika Arora
Submitted by: Sanjana Singh
20214249
Christ (Deemed to be University), Delhi NCR

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 INDEX

Sr No. Topic Page No.

1. Introduction 3

2. Problems Linked to Poverty 4-5

3. Theoretical Understanding of Poverty 6-7

4. Poverty Alleviation Programs 8

5. Conclusion 9

6. Bibliography 9

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 INTRODUCTION
Societies often perceive poverty as an individualistic problem, believing it to be the result of
poor choices: people themselves are responsible for household income levels and financial
stability. But the problem is more complex, poverty also stems from the poor structure of the
economy, the distribution of goods, and other sectors of the country, making it a social problem.
Failure to build systems that help citizens be financially stable leads to many problems related to
crime, education, health care, and more. The government will solve them. In countries like India
and Bangladesh, most people farm through tradition, and people's social lives are simply related
to culture and resources. So far available and discovered resources have not been mobilized to
advanced stages. The main cause of this social problem is that most of the human resources are
full of talents who have not received technical education. In such countries, technological
progress is not yet fully developed, bringing a lot of uncertainty to people's lives. It makes the
cycle of poverty pretty obvious. It is not difficult to predict the various social problems that poor
people face on a daily basis. Such people do not have access to proper medical care, proper
education, or even proper livelihoods and sanitation. The main cause of this social problem is
that most of the human resources are full of talents who have not received technical education.
Poverty is thus a critical condition in its own right, causing many other social problems and
dragging the poor into the cycle of poverty.

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 PROBLEMS LINKED TO POVERTY

POOR HEALTH
Income and health are closely related. In fact, there is a lot of truth in the claim that "wealth is
health". Poverty, sickness and disease often go together. Good nutrition is the basis of a healthy
life. However, many poor people cannot afford nutritious food. According to UNICEF, one-third
of the world's malnourished children live in India, and "46% of children under the age of 3 are
small for their age, 47% are underweight and at least 16% are wasting." I'm here." But the
challenge of living in poverty isn't just getting enough healthy food. In addition, poverty creates
stress, increases tobacco and alcohol consumption, and increases the risk of substance abuse and
violence. Equally important, poor people have fewer resources to fight when illness or injury
strikes. About a third do not have health insurance and simply cannot afford medical bills. As a
result, poor people may not seek medical care readily. Poverty affects health throughout life.
Among the poor, infant mortality, the risk of dying within the first year of life, is twice the
national average. India suffers from a high infant mortality rate. In India, more than 2 million
children die each year from easily preventable diseases. In India, 63 of her 1000 children die in
infancy. After all, poor people's lives can be short. Low-income men and women are more likely
to die young from infectious diseases, violence, and even natural disasters. Some die of cancer
and heart disease.

HOMELESSNESS
The problem of homelessness, the plight of the poor who have no shelter and live mainly on the
streets, remains one of the major disadvantages of Indian society. Researchers estimate that there
were 1.77 million homeless people in India as of the 2011 census. This is made up of single men,
women, mothers, the elderly and people with disabilities and represents her 0.15% of the
country's total population. However, the number is claimed to be much higher than those
captured by the point-in-time method. There are many causes of homelessness, and the emphasis
given to a particular cause depends on political affiliation. Conservatives point to personal
problems, noting that his quarter of homeless people suffer from mental disorders and many
abuse alcohol and other drugs. Liberals counter that homelessness has more to do with personal
deficiencies than with poverty, citing low-paying jobs and a lack of affordable housing as the
main causes. Other problems leading to homelessness include: disability (mental, physical, or
both), lack of affordable housing (a basic apartment in India costs about $70 a month),
unemployment (seasonal or due to economic hardship), and industry shifts. there is. Abandoned
elderly, mentally ill, unmarried pregnant women, and helpless divorced women and girls are also
some of the leading causes of homelessness in India. Some work part-time and some work full-
time.

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LIMITED SCHOOLING
Poor kids are less likely to get into high school than rich kids. Underperforming public schools
often turn low-income children into underperforming students and grow up into low-income
adults. It is easy to see how it contributes to the transmission of Even those who remain in
school, rich and poor children usually have different experiences. Students living in poverty
often have fewer resources at home to complete homework, study, and engage in activities that
help them succeed in school. Many poor families do not have access to computers, high-speed
internet (three-quarters of her households now have access to high-speed broadband), and other
materials that help students outside of school. Parents in these families often work long hours or
have multiple jobs. This means that you may not be able to help your child with schoolwork.
Research has shown that many teachers in schools at high risk of poverty are inexperienced and
often less effective than experienced teachers often employed by high-income schools and school
districts. increase. Lack of quality education only separates the academic performance levels of
students in schools at high risk of poverty from their peers in higher-income schools and
communities.

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

When it comes to street crime, it often involves the poor rather than the rich, both as perpetrators
and victims. Crime is something that the general public doesn't pay much attention to. High
headlines for street crime mean that it is the poor who are most likely to be arrested, tried and
imprisoned. Poor people entering the criminal justice system have to rely on public defense or
court-appointed lawyers, usually underpaid and overworked. After all, being in prison means it
will be harder to find a good job later. Just as poverty increases the risk of getting into trouble
with the law, felony conviction increases the likelihood that low-income people will end up in
poverty. India is plagued not only by high poverty rates, but also by excessive crime.

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 THEORETICAL ANALYSIS: UNDERSTANDING POVERTY

STRUCTURAL-FUNCTIONAL APPROACH
Functionalists see society as a machine, and this single aspect of society (i.e. social structure)
performs a function that is essential for that society to function properly. Therefore,
“dysfunctionality” in any aspect of society is a deviation from the norm and must therefore be
addressed. Superficially, poverty appears to be dysfunctional, but according to Durkheim, it is
false, rather poverty and social inequality are necessary for the proper functioning of society. It
can be better understood by understanding a functionalist perspective on social stratification, and
class stratification in particular. According to David Moore's paper, stratification and inequality
are necessary and help society to motivate individuals to train and perform complex roles.
Apart from this, poverty as a social problem can also be analyzed based on the work of
anthropologist Oscar Lewis, whose approach can be called as The Social Pathology Approach.
He presented the concept called as Culture of Poverty, a cultural pattern that makes poverty a
way of life. Lewis argued that people were adapting to poverty, accepting hardship, and giving
up hope that life would be better. Thinking this way, Lewis continued, could lead to people
turning to alcohol and drugs, being violent, ignoring their families, and living for the moment. In
doing so, they pass the culture of poverty from generation to generation. Poverty can also be
analyzed using social disruption theory, which refers to the breakdown of social order caused by
rapid social change. When migration occurs, large numbers of people congregate in a particular
location, resulting in too many people for the number of available jobs.
According to David Moore's thesis, stratification and inequality are necessary and help society to
motivate individuals to train and perform complex roles. It depends on the level of usefulness
each occupation has to society and the level of complexity that the job has. If the occupation
brings great benefits to society, it is considered worthwhile. For example, the doctor's profession
is complicated. The rationale for this complexity is that medical education and training takes an
average of 10 years. Moreover, the work of doctors is both valuable and complex because they
provide essential and irreplaceable services. To complete David Moore's thesis, worthwhile and
complex work must be economically and socially rewarding. It is varying degrees of social and
economic reward that drive class stratification.
In summary, the core of David Moore's thesis is that we need social stratification and, by
extension, poverty. The existence of occupational hierarchies means that individuals seek the
occupations that best suit them and those that bring the greatest benefit to society.

SYMBOLIC-INTERACTION ANALYSIS
Symbolic interaction theory emphasizes the social construction of problems and solutions. This
approach examines how members of society view the poor and how these views lead to specific
understandings of the causes of poverty. For example, there is the view that poor people are lazy,

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unintelligent, or personally flawed. Various Symbolic Interactionists describe the popular view
of the poor as "blame the victim". This is about finding the causes of poverty in the attitudes and
behavior of the poor themselves. increase. This perspective is more concerned with
understanding the factors that drive people into poverty. Hierarchy posits that it influences what
people believe, how they live, how they relate to others, and how they see themselves. Symbolic
interactionists believe that people are in poverty because they have not been able to find
opportunities or connect with individuals who can lead them to a better standard of living.
Poverty exists because impoverished individuals are only familiar to, and otherwise exposed to,
other impoverished people. Articles by Mooney, Knox, and Schacht suggest that "people are
more likely to respond to a definition of a situation than to the objective situation itself,"
resulting in what individuals believe to be true the situation eventually manifests itself in reality.
Without knowledge of or access to resources or the wealthy, people in poverty tend to remain
poor because of their beliefs.
We can conclude saying that this theory helps to show that poverty is not only matter of money,
rather it is more about meanings and how society perceives poor. This approach points to society
as the cause of poverty, but says little about how society makes some people poorer.

SOCIAL-CONFLICT APPROACH
Social conflict theory holds that poverty is never inevitable, natural, or a good thing. This
analysis also refutes the idea that poverty is the result of human mistakes. On the contrary, this
approach argues that poverty is caused by the failure of society itself. Karl Marx pointed to what
he called an internal contradiction in the capitalist economy. A system that produced so much
ended up making so many people poor. By exploiting the superstructure, the bourgeoisie is able
to maintain its control over the means of production, and this exploitation as a whole is doubled.
The proletariat is the class that does manual labor to produce goods. Without the class of the
proletariat, the bourgeois means of production would be powerless. Nevertheless, the bourgeoisie
underpays this task by underpaying the proletariat, and finally leaves power in the hands of the
bourgeoisie. The second method is what Marx calls alienation. This is a process of working
conditions and constant exploitation that leaves workers isolated and unable to fight for power in
solidarity. According to this theory, the only way for the proletariat to escape its oppressed status
is to acquire the means of production.
Marx thus argued that poverty is the result of the workings of capitalism. The poor suffer from
lack of cultural capital and money.

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 POVERTY ALLEVIATION PROGRAMS
Poverty eradication remains a major challenge for planned economic development. It is difficult
to provide general policy prescriptions because countries have very different experiences of
economic growth and poverty reduction. There are states (Punjab and Haryana) that have
embarked on the path of high agricultural growth and have successfully reduced poverty, and
others (Kerala) that have focused on human resource development and poverty reduction. The
state (West Bengal) that has vigorously implemented land reforms, empowered panchayat,
mobilized the poor and effectively implemented poverty reduction programs and direct public
support in the form of public food transfers. There was a state (Andhra Pradesh) that achieved
poverty reduction through targeted interventions. Various schemes initiated by the Government
of India include Integrated Rural Development Program (IRDP), Swarnjayantigram Swarozgarh
Yojana (SGSY), Jawahar Rozgarh Yojana (JRY), Employment Guarantee Scheme (EAS), etc.
On the other hand, it is also globally recognized that in India poverty is multifaceted and can
only be really counteracted through concerted efforts on various dimensions. It shows that we are
on the fastest trajectory to reduce poverty and reach the poverty eradication target by 2030. At
the heart of India's national development agenda is a two-pronged poverty eradication strategy.
Maintaining an average real annual GDP growth rate of 8% is a key part of the strategy to create
jobs that favor those who are new to the labor market, as well as those who have been laid off in
agriculture and other sectors. It is also an element. Second, targeted programs aim to directly
address different dimensions of poverty and help the poor. They facilitate increased incomes for
economically disadvantaged populations by developing agricultural infrastructure and support
services, creating productive assets, and developing skills and entrepreneurship. Social
protection measures and risk reduction from natural and other disasters aim to ensure that
unforeseen needs do not hamper poverty reduction efforts. In recent years, pressures on poor and
disadvantaged households have increased food security, nutrition assistance, housing for all with
basic amenities, education for all, universal health coverage, roads and Connectivity, social
security, employment, livelihood diversification, skill development and more. Pradhan Mantri
Jan Dhan Yojana ensures financial inclusion for poor households by providing universal access
to banking facilities, access to credit and insurance. Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana
(PMJAY), commonly known as Ayushman Bharat Yojana scheme, aims to provide universal
health protection to the poor and vulnerable. Quality housing for those in need under PMAY
with basic facilities such as LPG, electricity, drinking water and toilets will help bridge the
deprivation gap. With over 6 million households mobilized into self-help groups as part of DAY-
NRLM, this rural Indian country is witnessing a massive social capital build-up. India's poor are
transforming the way they live and access services through digital means such as the Common
Service Center (CSC).

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 CONCLUSION

Sociology provides powerful tools for thinking about poverty. "Sociological thinking" helps us
to better understand society's problems and problems. It enables us to understand individual
problems as part of society's economic and political institutions, and to look critically at issues
that may be oversimplified or misunderstood. Myths and misconceptions dominate public and
political debates when it comes to poverty. Sociological thinking helps separate poverty from
related concepts and pejorative discussions of various social issues. Using a framework of
inequality (and equality) allows us to think more carefully about the relationship between class
maintenance issues and poverty. It is no coincidence that countries with lower relative income
poverty rates tend to have a stronger focus on equality. Sociological theory can warn people
about how the importance of class inequalities and opportunity structures becomes less obvious
as individual responsibility and action become increasingly emphasized. Nonetheless, the fact
remains that where life begins has a large impact on where it is likely to end. Starting a life of
poverty means a higher risk of poverty later in life.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homelessness_in_India