1. CAPE 2005 - Unit 2 Poverty
Economic factors are the main contribution to the cause and persistence of poverty in the Caribbean. Discuss. [25 marks]
It is evident that poverty is a continuous issue that is present in almost all Caribbean society. For most sociologists, it is the economic factors that are
present in the region that have contributed to the cause and persistence of poverty. It is argued that poverty in the Caribbean results from low wages
in the informal sector, low labour returns to rural self-employment activities, underemployment, and, in some cases, protracted periods of
unemployment.
For the Weberians, poverty is caused by weak market position where groups have few skills to sell. It therefore results in a poor distribution of wealth,
as those groups with the skills to sell will receive more of the wealth. Hence, it is argued that the main solution to poverty is for better distribution of
wealth. For most parts, Weber is criticized. It is argued that he ignores the power of capitalists to control ideas and wealth and therefore blames the
victim of poverty for poverty. Furthermore, it is argued that the redistribution of income has not worked as a strategy.
The Marxists do not blame the poor for their poverty nor do they blame their culture. Ralph Miliband writes:
"The basic fact is that the poor are an integral part of the working class - its poorest and most disadvantaged stratum. They need to be seen as such,
as part of a continuum, the more so as many workers who are not deprived in the official sense live in permanent danger of entering the ranks of the
deprived; and that they share...many of the disadvantages which afflict the deprived..."
Marxists look for explanations in the structure of the society in question, in the economic arrangements present and in the functions that poverty
performs for capitalism and the capitalist class. To put it simply the reason for poverty and inequality lies in the market based capitalist economy and
the fluctuation that all such economies periodically go through. Poverty is therefore caused by capitalism. Capitalism concentrates wealth in the hands
of the oligarchy. The Marxists argue that poverty tends to continue because the rich have no interest in ending poverty. Some sociologists have argued
that the Marxists theory of poverty doesn’t explain why some social groups are more vulnerable to poverty than others.
The Class-based explanation of the cause of the persistence of poverty asserts that poverty is the result of some people's marginality in relation to the
process of economic production, which limits their life-chances.
Numerous theories presented by sociologists have moved away from the economic factors to explain the cause and persistence of poverty in the
Caribbean society. It means therefore that the economic factors are not necessarily the main factors accountable for the issue.
The Individualistic theory provides that the cause of poverty and inequality is rooted in the individual’s failings. The Individual deserves to be poor and
so he is poor. It is the laziness of people that causes poverty. This theory relives on the theory of Social Darwinism by Herbert Spenser to explain its
notion. Spencer argued that the “strongest would survive”, in that the wealthy are strong and the poor are weak. Pertaining to the poor, Spenser
believed that the poor should be given no help at all. In his eyes, “help those who helped themselves”. They were after all engaged in an immoral
style of life he argued so why should they be helped. This theory is criticized deeply as it is argued that most studies have found that the poor are
more than willing to work, and even so, many of those in work can also be said to be in poverty. Blaming the poor for their poverty is like blaming the
homeless on being homeless, rather illogical. Poor people no more want to be in poverty than homeless people want to sleep on freezing cold streets.
Oscar Lewis has argued that people are in poverty mainly because of their culture. In that, their culture (their beliefs, values, attitudes and general
patterns of behaviour and language) are what causes their poverty, or at least, what helps to keep them in their poverty. Lewis proposed that people
held an attitude of fatality (they believed that it was hopeless to try and improve their situation). People in poor families show attitudes of resignation
(there is not much you can do about your situation so why bother trying to change it) and fatalism (fate has decreed that you were meant to be poor,
why fight it, it was meant to be). Therefore, if this is true, people in poverty will do little about their situation because they believe there is little point.
This culture is then passed on to children and their children so that it becomes endemic.
It is often times argued that this theory fail to see that poor people’s culture is not the cause of their poverty but rather a representation of it. And in
most cases, those in poverty share the same cultural patterns as those in the upper classes
For most parts, it is impossible to ignore the economic factors that have plunge people into poverty across the Caribbean region. It is also impossible
to ignore other theories that target the poor’s lifestyle and culture. Though, economic factors have caused poverty, other factors cannot be ignored for
an understanding of the causes and persistence of poverty, in any given society.