Wealth & Poverty

• STATISTICS:

  • Differences in income between the upper middle class and lower working class is still around £ 40,000 (ONS)
  • ONS found in 2013 that 2.3% of the population were on zero-hour contracts. This meant that they had jobs which were insecure and did not guarantee income
  • The Rowntree Foundation - 23% of people in the UK live in poverty, 31% of children in the UK live in poverty
• Name the 4 studies that give reasons for why social inequalities within wealth & poverty exist:

  1. Marsland - culture of dependency
  2. Lewis - culture of poverty + cycle of deprivation
  3. Murray - the underclass
  4. Marxist - poverty trap + not enough welfare
• Marsland

  • people have a “culture of dependency”, -- as a society we expect the gov to provide for us instead of providing for ourselves. This causes the working class to become lazy and not try to gain employment.
• Which sociologist claimed that there was an inequality within classes with wealth and poverty because the working class had a "culture of dependency"?

  Marsland
• Lewis

  • Culture of poverty - the working class has a set of values which keeps them in poverty: families socialise their children into values of fatalism and immediate gratification. This leads to a cycle of deprivation where those who are born poor continue to stay poor for the rest of their lives as well as their future generations
• Which sociologist claimed the reason for social inequalities in wealth & poverty was due to a culture of poverty leading to a cycle of deprivation?

  Lewis
• Murray

  • The “underclass”. A class which are unemployed and rely on benefits. These attitudes are passed to their children.
• Marxist

  • Blame the gov for not providing enough welfare ie benefits. to help the poor escape poverty. The idea of the poverty trap is used to explain this. When a person on benefits gets a job they lose their benefits however often their salary is less than their benefits therefore it is difficult for them to have a job and enough money to truly escape poverty.
• Which theory blames the system instead of the people for disparities within wealth & poverty -- saying the gov causes a poverty trap?

  Marxist
• Consequences of Poverty- How it affects life chances / disadvantages the working class:

  
  

  1. Poor Health: Higher risk of illnesses, mental health issues, and low life expectancy
  2. Limited Education: Fewer educational opportunities, lower academic achievement, and reduced social mobility
  3. Social Isolation: Feelings of loneliness, exclusion, and reduced social connections
  4. Economic Stress: Debt, financial insecurity, and reduced access to resources
  5. Reduced Life Chances: Limited career prospects, reduced social mobility, and reduced life expectancy