Culture of Poverty

2021 ◽  
pp. 83-104
Keyword(s):  
2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Ndwakhulu Tshishonga

This article examines the socio-economic implications that the controversial sub-culture of skhothane has on the development or underdevelopment of youth at Ekurhuleni and surrounding townships. It interrogates skhothane within the post-modern expressive youth culture. In the township(s) of Ekurhuleni, skhothane is regarded not only as a controversial sub-culture but also as a lifestyle whereby young people compete in acquiring material goods with the ultimate purpose of destroying them. This practice co-exists alongside youth unemployment and underdevelopment which is exacerbated by poverty, rising unemployment and gross inequalities. The author argues that the practice of skhothane sub-culture does not only undermine the policies and programmes aimed at the socio-economic upliftment of young people, but turns the youth into materialistic consumers. In this article, young people are viewed as victims of post-modern lifestyles who are socialised under an intergenerational culture of poverty and underdevelopment. It uses primary data from selected interviews with skhothane members and general members of local communities and secondary sources from books, accredited journals and newspapers.


2013 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 489-513 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fauzia Erfan Ahmed

Abstract As never before, the private sector can make a difference at the bottom of the pyramid (BOP). But little is known about who the poor really are, the environment in which they live, and how to create value for them. This also means that little is known about how to establish a business at the BOP that meets both development and profit goals. This article presents a segmentation approach embedded in a larger theory of the culture of poverty to help businesses focus on serving the BOP. I focus on examples from my research on the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh and Patrimonio Hoy in Mexico to show examples of applications of segmentation theory to businesses at the BOP.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1970 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 422-426
Author(s):  
Carter L. Marshall ◽  
Khatab M. Hassanein ◽  
Ruth S. Hassanein ◽  
Carol L. Paul

The semantic differential, a means of measuring attitudes, was administered to 178 fourth grade students to compare attitudes toward health. One school was composed almost entirely of black children from the inner city, the other contained white children from upper middle class homes. When the children were divided into the two groups by sex, differences between the groups were not statistically significant but there were highly significant differences between the races. Generally, white children held more positive attitudes toward health personnel and health institutions than black children, while on the average black children were less concerned about sickness than white children. Whether these differences in attitude are in some way ethnically determined or based rather on a "culture of poverty" could not be determined from this study.


Anthropos ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 116 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-110
Author(s):  
Marek Jakoubek

This article deals with the question of the applicability of Lewis’ concept of the culture of poverty to the situation of the socially excluded localities in urban setting inhabited by Roma (“Roma ghettoes”). The “Roma ghettoes” are shown to be places of a specific cultural pattern which emerged in the process of reaction and adaptation to the long-lasting poverty of its inhabitants. This pattern matches most of the parameters of the culture of poverty - with the exception of an elaborated system of kinship. An analysis of its role in “Roma ghettoes,” however, shows that the complex system of kinship does not prevent poverty, but may re/produce it.


Sociologija ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 395-416
Author(s):  
Stefan Jankovic

The paper gives a historical account of the genesis of marginal social position explanations in the USA, with special emphasis on the characteristics, related to the generating of cultural factors in explanation. In this light, the two fundamental and interrelated concepts are being indentified - the culture of poverty and the underclass, whose conceptual genesis, in a causal manner, varies between structural and cultural grounding. Due the translation of perceived minority behavioural patterns into the dimensions used for defining the marginal social position, conceptual validity of the underclass has been heavily disputed. At the same time, dilemmas created by the implementation of cultural factors constructed in that way open up broader issues of the relationship between culture and structure, lines of determination and the possibility of a consistent explanation of marginal social position.


1996 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andries Van Aarde

Culture of poverty: The world of the New Testament then and the situation in South Africa today. In this article poverty in the world of the New Testament is explained in the  light of the social dynamics of the first century Eastern Mediterranean. The focus is on the sub-culture of the disreputable poor. Features of a culture of poverty are reflected upon from a social-scientific perspective in order to try to understand why poverty is intensifying in South Africa today. The article aims at identifying guidelines for Christians in using the New Testament in a profound way to challenge the threat of poverty. The following aspects are discussed: the underdevelopment of third-world societies over against the technical evolution in first-world societies during the past two hundred years, economic statistics with regard to productivity and unemployment in South Africa, the social identity of the disreputable poor, poverty within the pre-print culture of the biblical period, and the church as the household of God where Christians should have compassion for others.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document