Social Causes Of Poverty Sociology Essay

Social Causes Of Poverty Sociology Essay Although many people blame poverty on the poor, social attributes have increased this issue significantly. Social causes of poverty consist of lack of education, the family, too low of wages, immigration, and minimal job opportunities. In nearly every society today the male is the dominant figure over the females and whites are believed to be dominant over all other races. A persons sex or race fall into play in every one of the social causes of poverty. According to Alex Thio, poverty is usually measured in two different ways absolute or relative poverty. Absolute poverty is the lack of minimum food and shelter necessary for maintaining life. Relative poverty is a state of deprivation resulting from having less than the majority of the people have. The widely accepted definition of poverty is those who earn less than half of the nations median income are poor because they lack what is considered to be needed by most people to live a decent life.  [1]   The more education an individual has the more money that individual makes. Ron Haskings states that in 2009, the difference in median family income between families headed by an individual who dropped out of high school and families headed by an individual with a bachelors degree or higher was about $68,600.  [2]  Making it through college and earning that highly wanted bachelors degree may just depend on how wealthy a persons family is or what race that person is. Haskins says that over eighty percent of white students will graduate college while only about sixty five of black and Hispanic students will graduate. Seventy nine percent of students, whose parents are within the upper class, would enroll in college and fifty three percent of that group would end up earning a four-year college degree. Only thirty four percent of students, whose parents in the bottom income classes, would enroll in college. Eleven percent of those students would end up receiving a four-year degree.  [3]  Kids whose family earns less money are more likely to not attend college and will more than likely remain under the poverty line due to lack of education. Some students just do not have the intellectual ability to make it through college making them only attain a high school diploma. Anup Shah says out of the nearly 2 billion children in the world one billion of them are living in poverty.  [4]  Single parent families are more likely than two parent families to be living in poverty. Ron Haskins states that in 2009, the poverty rate for children in married-couple families was 11.0 percent. By contrast, the poverty rate for children in female-headed families was 44.3 percent.  [5]  Divorce is very common in the United States and a lot of the times those individuals will not remarry. Alex Thio says poverty affects women more than men called the feminization of poverty. Women are now more likely to be heading a household while taking care of children. Women also live longer than men contributing to older widows living in poverty.  [6]  Having children while not married has increased significantly in the past decade. According to Jay Wesley Richards children born and raised outside marriage are nearly seven times more likely to live in poverty than childre n born to and raised by a married couple.  [7]  If marriage rates would increase, divorce rates decrease, and unwedded child bearing decrease children living in poverty would decrease significantly. The only way to avoid poverty for most individuals is to work. Work is limited though with the large overpopulation due to immigration and families having more children. Even if any individual does manage to find a job most likely the pay will be minimum wage. Ron Haskins says that working at eight dollars and hour for 35 hours a week year round, a person would earn $14,560, $2,145 under the poverty level for a family of three.  [8]  The only way a single parent working at minimum wage taking care of two children to get out of poverty would to be raise the minimum wage just enough to be right at the poverty line or above it. Wages and work however, are not fair for all races and sexes though. Alex Thio says men can escape poverty by getting a job, but women cannot escape poverty. Women are likely to get paid less than males and hold lower status jobs. An answer for this is because society has socialized women to be wives and mothers.  [9]  If a male and a female held the same job the male would end up getting paid more just because he is a male even though they both have the same education and qualifications. In the United States society has impeded that whites are dominant and every other race is inferior. Races besides white also have issues in earning jobs and a fair amount of pay. Some employers will not hire workers because of their race or pay them a less amount due to their skin color. In Sociology: A Brief Introduction Alex Thio says society creates and maintains poverty. Poverty is what allows societys dirty work to be done. Without some dirty jobs businesses could not function such as washing dishes, hauling garbage, or cleaning. Higher paid employers would not complete these tasks and that is why they are left for the poor people of society. Affluent business people and professionals are able to achieve their career goals with the help of poor people working as maids and servants. Poverty also creates several jobs such as social workers and other professionals who serve the poor. Without poor people several people would be out of jobs and more people would be in poverty.  [10]   The United States is the number one nation that immigrants come to. Ron Haskins says that a large number of immigrants have less than a ninth grade education.  [11]  This lack of education among immigrants causes nearly all immigrants to only hold minimum paying jobs, not letting them earn enough money to lick properly and stay above the poverty line. Haskins proclaims that the poverty rate among immigrants is higher than the poverty rate among native-born Americans. In 2009, the immigrant poverty rate was 19.0 percent as compared with 13.7 percent for native-born Americans. Given that the overall poverty rate for the nation was 14.3 percent, the poverty rate would be lower by about 0.6 percentage points (or around 1.9 million people) if the immigrant poverty rate were the same as the poverty rate for native-born citizens.  [12]  Some immigrants may take jobs from Native born Americans, but the majority will not take jobs. Immigrants will have lower status and lower paying jo bs due to their lack of education and their race. The three sociological perspectives on stratification stated by Alex Theo are the following: the functionalist perspective says the more rewarding a position is, the more motivated people are to work hard to acquire the education and skills it requires, conflict perspective says stratification limits opportunities for the underprivileged, preserves injustices, and provokes unrest, and the symbolic interactionist perspective says in their interactions, higher-status people show off their power while lower-status ones appear polite or respectful.  [13]   Despite poverty allowing societys dirty work to be done, helping the affluent workers reach their career goals, and creating several jobs the social causes of poverty outweigh the positive effects. People with blame poverty on the poor even though the poor are not against working and are not lazy. The social aspect of poverty is the true reason of why there is poverty in the world.

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Mao Zedong was considered to be the father of communist China. He was born in Shaoshan, China in Hunan province on December 26, 1893 and died in Beijing on September 9, 1976. He was born into a peasant family with 3 siblings, 2 younger brothers and a younger sister. Unlike most peasant families in Nineteenth Century China, his family was more wealthy than most. He went to Shaoshan Primary School. When Mao was 11 he attempted to run away from home to get away from the Confucian upbringing, but his father brought him back and 2 years later he completed his primary education. He worked full time in the fields with his father. To fulfill his restless mind he was always reading. It was at that time that after reading a booklet by Zheng Guanying that he developed a political consciousness. His future political standing was influenced by George Washington and Napoleon Bonaparte and their love for their countries. In 1911 when he was about 18 he moved to Changsha for a secondary education. H e served as a private soldier in the rebel army for the Xinhai Revolution, it was successful in defeating the monarchy in the southern province but the Northern Province still supported the monarchy rule. After the victory he returned to studies but soon moved out of Changsha School because it was set to Confucianism. After that he spent most of his time reading at the public library with a goal to be a teacher. He enrolled himself in a teacher training college. He then started writing articles for the radical newspaper, New Youth. He participated in many school activities and he graduated from that same school in June of 1919. He then moved to Beijing in search for a job not being able to find one on his own his mentor helped him get one as an assista... ...ding it was somewhere between 2 and 7. Some of Mao’s most famous quotes were †¦ â€Å"A revolution is not a dinner party, or writing an essay, or painting a picture, or doing embroidery; it cannot be so refined, so leisurely and gentle, so temperate, kind, courteous, restrained and magnanimous. A revolution is an insurrection, an act of violence by which one class overthrows another.† – From Report on an Investigation of the Peasant Movement in Hunan â€Å"War is the highest form of struggle for resolving contradictions, when they have developed to a certain stage, between classes, nations, states, or political groups, and it has existed ever since the emergence of private property and of classes.† From Problems of Strategy in China's Revolutionary War â€Å"Every Communist must grasp the truth, "Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.† From Problems of War and Strategy

Frankenstein: Theme of The Other

One of the greatest corresponding attributes between Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and modern day society is the prominence of appearance and acceptance in society. Throughout modern day society and the society portrayed in Frankenstein, a person is judged primarily on appearance. Social prejudices are commonly founded from appearance, ranging from skin color to weight. Perceptions are then based off of these prejudices. A person will then act a certain way towards the person the prejudices are based off of. The parallel drawn between the societies is that they are very appearance-based, which is brought to the attention in contrast of the hideous monster and the common human being. The â€Å"Other† is an individual recognized by a community as not belonging, as being unusual in an essential way that differentiates from everyone else in the group. The group or community sees itself and its members as the norm and those who differ from the norm, as the Other. Identified as lacking fundamental characteristics possessed by the group, the Other is usually always seen as lesser or inferior and treated consequently. The group defining the Other may be an entire society, a social class, a community within a society, or even a local gang. (Melani 1) The Other is not essentially a numerical minority. In a country or territory is over taken by a regal power, the more numerous natives can become the Other, for instance, the British rule in India where the native Indians outnumbered the British 4,000 to 1. (Melani 1) Likewise, women are classified and judged by men, the dominant group or persons, in relationship to themselves, so that they become the Other. Hence Aristotle states: â€Å"The female is a female by virtue of a certain lack of qualities; we should regard the female nature as afflicted with a natural defectiveness. † (Melani 1) The outsider is a term that is commonly confused with the Other, but they are not identical. The outsider may have the opportunity to be accepted by and incorporated into the group. The Other, however, is distinguished as different in kind, as lacking in some fundamental trait or traits sets the individual apart from the group. Therefore the Other is doomed forever to remain separate and desolate, to forever remain outside of the group unless the group’s outlook is subject to change. (Melani 1) In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the creature, opposed by his maker and rejected by society, exemplifies otherness. Along with the fact that he serves as a converse example of natural reproduction, the monster has an extremely grotesque appearance resulting in severe isolation and eventually leading to his implacable and callous behavior. In Frankenstein, beauty is considered a virtue of good, while deformity and ugliness are inescapably associated with evil. In many instances, the monster’s repulsiveness is equated with him being evil. After fleeing from the first sight of the conscious monster, Victor states: â€Å"I stepped fearfully in: the apartment was empty, and my bedroom was also freed from its hideous guest. I could hardly believe that so great a good fortune could have befallen me, but when I became assured that my enemy had indeed fled, I clapped my hands for joy and ran down to Clerval. (Shelley 52) Victor implies that just because the monster, that he created, is hideous, he must be his enemy. Even the creator of the beast fails to give him one chance at acceptance to society and the world. This theme only begins here. When the monster confronts the William, Victor’s youngest brother, William exclaims: â€Å"`Let me go,' he cried; `monster! Ugly wretch! You wish to eat me and tear me to pieces. You are an ogre. Let me go, or I will tell my papa. † (Shelley 144) The monster only faces further isolation as not even the young boy will give him a chance to be accepted before concluding him a wretch. Even when the monster saves the life of a girl drowning in a river, as a result of his appearance, he is not rewarded, but shot due to assumptions made from because of his appearance. â€Å"This was then the reward of my benevolence! I had saved a human being from destruction, and as a recompense I now writhed under the miserable pain of a wound which shattered the flesh and bone. Inflamed by pain, I vowed eternal hatred and vengeance to all mankind. † (Shelley 143) The monster shows here that even when seen doing a good deed, he is still rejected by society and proclaimed evil, based off his external features. The division of beauty and repulsiveness as related to good and evil stem from the novel’s Romantic influences. The monster eventually realizes his place in the world. He begins to embrace his isolation and position as the Other. Once learning how to read, he begins to decipher Victor’s journal during the creation of the monster: â€Å"Accursed creator! Why did you form a monster so hideous that even YOU turned from me in disgust? God, in pity, made man beautiful and alluring, after his own image; but my form is a filthy type of yours, more horrid even from the very resemblance. Satan had his companions, fellow devils, to admire and encourage him, but I am solitary and abhorred. † (Shelley 131) The monster, now aware that his own creator is horrified by his existence, becomes increasingly anguished about his position in the world. â€Å"I am malicious because I am miserable. Am I not shunned and hated by all mankind? You, my creator, would tear me to pieces and triumph, remember that, and tell me why I should pity man more than he pities me? † (Shelley 147) The monster, abandoned by his God and unable to find a place in the world, admits here to Victor that his callous deeds were products of his grave desolation. The monster is unable to identify his purpose of existence. â€Å"I was dependent on none and related to none. The path of my departure was free, and there was none to lament my annihilation. My person was hideous and my stature gigantic. What did this mean? Who was I? What was I? These questions continually recurred, but I was unable to solve them. † (Shelley 141) Unable to make sense of his being, he questions Victor on his purpose for life. Why was he created to live a life of such inconceivable misery? From the text, we can learn that one should never judge someone by mainly appearance but by the content of their character. Frankenstein had a loving and compassionate soul inside of his hideous exterior. Sadly, Victor had to learn this lesson the hard way through the monster’s heinous path of destruction in his hunt for revenge. Others’ are still being distinguished to this day in modern society. Others today are being distinguished by race, social class and even sexual orientation. Insiders, or those seperate of the norm in society, specifically American society, generally share uniform traits such as origin of birth and success by economic terms. (Melani 1) The Others are those who are either poor or who, in some way, do not share the general values of American society. The parallel that attractive people are more likely to be accepted in society stems from the influence from the media. The media tells society what is and what isn’t attractive. Amanda Grable writes because man lives in society and is rarely secluded, man forms the majority of its ideas of self based on comparisons made from external stimuli. (Grable 1) This external stimuli can be made up of images of ones self in comparison of images of other people. It is commonly known that the main goal of most media is centered on advertisement, or a way to win customers over to buy their products. One of the universal ways this is accomplished is through showing images of attractive, happy people using these products. A study of 4,294 network commercials revealed that 1 out of every 3. 8 commercials send some sort of â€Å"attractiveness message,† (Grable 2) With all this dependency on self image, it’s hard not to see why humans are so quick to judge solely off of appearance. People in society are always creating sets of differences to differentiate between one another; from skin color, weight or even fashion sense. Self image is the underlying back bone of society. Judgments are consistently being made on one’s appearance by every member in society. This is the parallel drawn within modern day society and the novel.

Aristotle on the Mixed Form of Government in Sparta

Aristotle, in  On the Lacedaemonian Constitution—a section of  The Politics—says that some claim Spartas system of government included monarchical, oligarchic and democratic components. The Lacedaemonian [Spartan] constitution is defective in another point; I mean the Ephoralty. This magistracy has authority in the highest matters, but the Ephors are chosen from the whole people, and so the office is apt to fall into the hands of very poor men, who, being badly off, are open to bribes.—Aristotle Monarchical In the monarchical system two kings—hereditary monarchs, one from each of the Agiad and Eurypontid families—had priestly obligations and the power to make war (although by the time of the Persian Wars, the kings power to make war was restricted). Oligarchic The kings were automatic members of the Gerousia, the council of 28 elders picked for life plus the two kings. Five ephors, chosen annually by popular election, had the main power. Democratic The final component was the assembly, made up of all Spartiates—full Spartan citizens—over 18. Aristotle on the Poor In the quoted passage on the government of Sparta, Aristotle disapproves of government run by poor people. He thinks they would take bribes. This is striking for two reasons: that he would think the rich were not susceptible to bribes, and that he approves of government by the elite, something people in modern democracies tend to disapprove. Why would such a well-educated, brilliant thinker believe there was a difference between the rich and poor? Sources Chronology of Early SpartaAncient History SourcebookThe Ephors of Sparta  Herodotus on the Kings of Sparta C 430 BCEThe Kings of SpartaPeriegesis Hellados IIIThe Spartan SystemThomas Martin OverviewXenophon: Constitution of the Lacedaemonians 13.1ff and  Ã‚  8.3