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Poverty as a Social Problem
Social Problem – A condition that contradicts some other condition, pattern of behavior, or basic cultural values and is defined as incompatible with the desired quality of life; is caused and prolonged by structural factors that operate at multiple levels of social life;
involves intergroup conflict; and requires social action to ameliorate or resolve.
Poverty impedes the productivity and progress of our entire society because large numbers of people are denied access to the opportunity structure and impeded from contributing to the larger good.
Because poor people lead marginal lives, they often develop adaptive behavioral patterns that are incongruent with socially acceptable behaviors. These behaviors include extended family households, reciprocal aid among kin, high out-of-marriage birth rates,
family dissolution, petty crime, reliance on public assistance, family violence, erratic
employment, and informal social organization that is often not recognized by the larger society.
The lives of poor people contradict basic American values – the right to life and happiness, equality of opportunity, autonomy, freedom, materialism, familism, achievement, safety, security, good health, fairness, and justice.
The right to dignity as a human being is violated by the contradiction between our ideal of the worth of every person and the patterns of interaction between the poor and the non-poor. Poor persons are often treated with contempt, derision, disdain, and hostility by other Americans, especially agency personnel with whom they have contact.
People who live impoverished lives do not have access to the quality of life viewed as desirable by the larger society. Quality of life is defined according to desirable value-based societal goals prevalent in our society, such as the equal distribution of life chances, the assured achievement of a minimum standard of living for everyone, access to education, employment, and social protection, and access to health care.
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