Question

what problems poor people face?

Answer 1

Answer:

There are countless contributors to the problem of poverty and hunger—greed, theft, failure to plan, lack of education, laziness, natural disasters, disability, injustice, slavery, war, oppression, just to name a few.

Explanation:

The important problems the poor in our society face are:

(1) Social discrimination and social condemnation,

(2) Housing, and

(3) Subculture of poverty.

1. Social Discrimination:

The employers, the rich, the officials and even the government look down upon the poor. They are considered lethargic, inefficient and a burden on the society. They are harassed, humiliated and discriminated against at every level. Being unrepresented and powerless, they are al­ways the targets of attack and hostility by the powerful.

They have to face the challenges of illiteracy and social prejudice. They lack collec­tive power and whenever they make an effort to unite at the local or micro level against the politically, economically and socially stronger sections of the society (who view these efforts as threats to their domi­nance) they are crushed.

They have to pay a higher interest rate for credit. They are accused and labeled as undisciplined, immature, having very little foresight. They receive little or no attention in offices they visit. Whenever a theft or a crime is reported to the police, the police first rush to the areas inhabited by the poor as if it is only the poor who commit crimes. They are rarely considered reliable, dependent and trust­worthy. The hostile attitude of the society at every stage thus, lowers their self-image, creates in them a feeling of inferiority and curbs their efforts of gaining means to help themselves.

2. Housing:

Houselessness, overcrowding, slums and rental laws are serious prob­lems in urban areas. The family’s dwelling unit and the neighbourhood within which it is located are important elements in the problems associ­ated with poverty. The houses of the poor are not only over-crowded but lack privacy. The importance of the housing design on the family is sug­gested by the postulation of two polar types of family values: the familistic type and the emancipated type

The former is characterized by strong feelings of fulfilling family obligations, providing support and se­curity to old, infirm and the unemployed in the family, identification with family traditions, common efforts of members to achieve family goals, and concern for family status. The latter lays emphasis on per­sonal pursuit of individual goals, restricted obligations to family, and subordination of family welfare to individual welfare.

In addition to the position of the family in a continuum between these polar types of val­ues, the neighbourhood too has an influence on the members’ relations outside the home. In urban slums, a considerable portion of family life is conducted outside the dwelling unit. The darkness of the houses drives the children out into the streets creating problems for the parents in con­trolling their children.

The existing space does not permit proper sleeping arrangements and forces an invasion of privacy. Family ten­sions also affect their personality as well as their behaviour; self-respect is eroded and cynicism fostered. Poverty forces living in the substandard houses and leaves little for the prerequisites of decent living. The defi­cient housing contributes to the weakening of family solidarity also.

3. Subculture of Poverty:

When poverty is transmitted over generations, it becomes a culture, ac­cording to Oscar Lewis. Kriegberg (1963:335-336) has said that although the membership of the poor changes to an important degree over the generations, the successive generations resemble each other in behaviour and values as a product of the common experiences of being poor and of being subjected to similar

The children of the poor inherit a subculture of violence in which physically aggressive responses are either expected or required by all members. The use of violence in such a subculture is not viewed as illicit conduct and the us­ers do not have to deal with feelings of guilt about their aggression.

Violence becomes a part of the lifestyle, the medium for solving difficult problems and is used primarily between persons and groups who them­selves rely upon the same supportive values and norms. On the one hand, this subculture is seen as the effect of poverty, that is, it refers to the similarities in the behaviour and thinking patterns of the people, and on the other hand, it is seen as the cause of poverty. The very instruments which had helped Indian economy to grow from infancy to maturity up to 1978 have now become the most serious impediments to its further development.