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Question
Watch a short video about The Sociological Imagination. The video discusses the example of obesity as a personal trouble and a social issue.
- What is another example of a personal trouble someone might experience? (hint: what is a challenge or barrier someone might face in achieving their goals).
- What is one social factor that can contribute to this problem (something that is a part of society that is outside the person’s control)?
Answer
Social Inequality as a Contributing Social Factor to Poverty
Poverty can be personal trouble that is more than a lack of income and productive resources. It can be hunger or malnutrition based on its context. Sociologists define poverty as a moral failing, fecklessness or dependency culture. it may be defined by unequal distribution of resources and opportunities, but it would have become a public issue. Therefore, poverty herein will be used in reference to an individual.
The top contributing social factor to poverty is social inequality that manifests through a lack of inclusivity in economic growth and jobs, job insecurity and low wages, and limited opportunities. Inequality affects how you perceive other people and your level of happiness. Trust levels in less equal societies are significantly low and engagement in social or civil participation is relatively low as does the likeliness of confessing to being happy.
On the other hand, social inequality is caused by a lack of balance in the distribution of resources, sometimes motivated by stereotypes and unnecessary insecurity. Therefore, stigma and continued disadvantaging of those in poverty are inescapable as the poor continue being poor and the rich get richer. The importance of stigma in his case is to aid understanding of poverty experiences.
Centrally to the assumptions on poverty Herrera (2017) argues that inequalities are there because there is no equality and that it does not necessarily mean that those not in poverty are living in wealth. Herrera (2017) continues to explain that inequality is a lack of balance that is reflected in aspects of income, opportunities, and so on. Therefore, social inequality leads to a barrier to enjoying the egalitarian use of benefits from the aspects described above.
References
Herrera, J. A. C. (2017). Inequality as Determinant of the Persistence of Poverty. Poverty, Inequality and Policy, 23-45. https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/55593
