Social Exclusion

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Social Exclusion

Introduction

The task at hand, is to define and discuss various types of poverty, social exclusion, oppression and social policy, whilst indicating an understanding of sociological theories and the impact of social policy on society. In completing this assignment I hope to show that I have assimilated some knowledge through reading, research, and the college sequences so far. I will breakdown the assignment into its constituent parts, and discuss each part under a clear heading. Throughout the essay I will endeavour to show an awareness of sensitive issues, anti-discriminatory practice, and how this affects the delivery of social work services.

Defining Poverty

Poverty has been with us for hundreds of years, and research into this subject dates back to the earliest day of sociology. Poverty may be described as some individuals, and or groups who are disadvantaged in comparison to others, and that the poor do not have enough to sustain a decent standard of living. Does this really define poverty? What is meant by ‘decent’ standard of living?  Poverty can mean having a ‘shortage of the necessities of life’. This comes under the concept of ‘need’. Equally, it can mean being unable to secure all the ‘benefits of civilisation’, which would come under the concept of ‘social need’ (1) Townsend (1979) discusses at length the concept of poverty and deprivation, and concludes that the two main types of poverty are ‘Absolute’ and ‘Relative’ poverty (2). Many would argue that there is no Absolute Poverty in Britain and that it only exists in third-world countries. Many homeless people in Britain would disagree, they live in cardboard box communities, and are fed from ‘soup kitchens’, which is about as absolute as you can get.

Absolute Poverty

Seebohm Rowntree based his definition of absolute poverty on a subsistence level, per se, ‘the things people need, in order to stay alive’. Absolute poverty defines basic human ‘need’ in terms of food, shelter, and clothing. Rowntree (1899) in Townsend (1979) refers to ‘Primary Poverty’’ This means people do not generate enough money each week to afford a normal, healthy life style even if they act frugally, and ‘Secondary Poverty’ which is having enough funds to cover the basic essentials, but being less thrifty. More recently Joseph Rowntree talks about being in ‘Absolute’ and Overall’ Poverty’. This was discussed and defined at the World Summit for Social Development in 1995 in Copenhagen. (4). It is seen as the first attempt to set down a definition that could be used to compare poverty consistently across countries. A criticism of absolute poverty is that it was based on an assumption that there are minimum basic needs for all people, in all societies (5) 

Relative Poverty or Deprivation

As a result of the inflexibility of ‘absolute’ poverty, the concept of relative poverty was devised. Relative Poverty can be defined as being ‘in poverty’, if people are unable to attain the accepted standard of living of their relevant societies.

Samuel Mencher states

‘The argument for relative standards rest on the assumption that for practical purposes standards become so fluid that no definition of need, no matter how broad, satisfies the ever changing expectations of modern life.’ (6)

Put simply, relative poverty is where a person ‘exists’ at a level significantly lower than the average standard of living of the people in their locality, or society. It has an effect on those on or below the minimum level of income provided by the government in the form of social security, denying them the ability to maintain a substantial standard of living and to participate in everyday ordinary activities.

                                                                  

Multiple Deprivation

The concept of  ‘Multiple Deprivation’ is based on a belief that, people are not poor just because they lack income, but because they are denied access to all the benefits of society, because of their impoverishment. For example, Townsend (1979) says, although nutritionally worthless, tea drinking in Britain is part of a way of life, and if someone is unable to afford to offer a visitor a cup of tea, then that person is deprived of the ability to mix socially (7).  Other factors involve a lack of access to, or facilities for, education, health, decent housing, and equal standards of service, to name but a few.  

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Hidden Poverty

Within the definitions of absolute poverty, relative poverty, and multiple deprivation, the distinction between men, women, and children, is at best blurred, or even ignored. This hides the fact that poverty can be hidden within a family unit, a society, or a culture.  According to OPPENHEIM (CPAG) research has shown that even where you have a high-income family, women and children still live in a state of poverty because of an unequal distribution of that income (8). Another form of hidden poverty is people entitled to claim benefits, who for one reason or another, fail to do ...

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