Sociological explanation of poverty - the emerging British underclass

... SOCIOLOGICAL EXPLANATION OF POVERTY "THE EMERGING BRITISH UNDERCLASS" By Charles Murray Introduction Understanding poverty - There is much agreement about the idea of poverty-numerous definitions are used by different researchers and policy makers. - Approaches used to measure poverty include benefit receipt, income levels and indicators of deprivation. - Explanations of poverty can be individual, familial, sub-cultural or structural. Currently I shall be dealing with the explanation of poverty by Charles Murray "The Underclass". Who are the underclass? A sort of synonym for people who are not just poor, but especially poor. In short the "underclass" does not refer to degree of poverty but, to a type of poverty. Main Ideas of Explanation - The poor in society are not characterised by the fact that they have low incomes or no money but also by their way of life, i.e.; lazy, dirty housing, juvenile delinquents, etc. - The poor are poor due to a class stratified society - The "underclass" in society

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