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Introduction
Despite major achievements in terms of technology and economics, poverty continues to be a global concern. Nearly a billion people around the world have to live for 1.9 dollars per day, which is negligent compared to how much wealth is generated annually. Despite the enormous magnitude of the issue, this social problem is not addressed adequately due to several reasons. Lack of attention from mass media companies and news agencies, as well as ineffective measures such as in comprehensive strategies, are some of the examples of why the issue is not being addressed properly. This paper provides an analysis of the problem using the concepts drawn from sociological theory.
Historical Perspective
The issue of poverty is not attributed to a single country or a region. Instead, the problem has a global scope and has been present for many hundreds of years. According to the data that has been collected since 1820, the portion of the population living in extreme poverty has been decreasing (Roser & Ortiz-Ospina, 2017). For instance, during the first half of the 19th century, more than 80% of the population lived below the extreme poverty line, which is defined as living for less than 1.9 international dollars per day (Roser & Ortiz-Ospina, 2017). An international dollar can be considered as a conceptual currency that accounts for inflation and the average price of goods.
The number of people living in poverty did not change dramatically in the 19th century. This percentage had decreased throughout the 20th century – it was 70% in the 1920s but went down to 50% in the 1970s, and to 20% in the 1990s (Roser & Ortiz-Ospina, 2017). Today, this number is approximately 10%, which may serve as the indication that the issue of poverty has been addressed adequately (Roser & Ortiz-Ospina, 2017). Calculating poverty rates as the percentage of the whole population may provide a false picture, however. Since the 1820s, the actual number of people living in poverty has been stable – around 1 billion people have had to struggle to survive and feed themselves (Roser & Ortiz-Ospina, 2017). This stagnation is an indication that the problem has not been tackled at all. Furthermore, the World Bank (2020) predicts that both the number of people and the percentage of the population living in extreme poverty will increase in 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus outbreak. The issue is also complicated by the fact that oil prices have been volatile, which impacts the global economy. Notably, GDP per capita will decrease substantially due to the economic recession, thus increasing the number of people in poverty.
Improving How the Problem is Addressed
Media and the internet are significant mechanisms of dispersing information today. People may learn about the events that have recently taken place in other parts of the world via leveraging the possibilities offered by contemporary technologies. It is also important to note that mass media is a significant contributor to agenda formation and setting public priorities. Lack of media coverage of the issue of extreme poverty is among the primary reasons why this social problem has been neglected. People have no definitive information about what strata of the population are at risk and how poverty affects their lives and future. When discussing poverty, most people think that the issue is only relevant in the context of financial stability. However, the definition of poverty is broad, and it can have multiple aspects. For instance, children living with single parents are often deprived of the opportunity to receive a quality education. This issue will have many unfavorable long-term consequences for these children. It may be challenging for them to find a well-paid job, which may further affect the lives of their children.
Newspapers and TV channels dedicate little time to covering what poverty is and the extent of its implications. Instead, much attention is given to geopolitical battles and the issues about national security, and the need for increased military expenditure. While countries spend hundreds of billions on the military, only a few percent of that money can solve the issue of global poverty if appropriately spent. Citizens have to force their governments to pay more attention to this social problem, and the mass media has the power to encourage people to do so. Unfortunately, contemporary news agencies often neglect the issue of global poverty.
Related Concepts
Stratification
To propose strategies and measures to solve the problem of poverty, it is imperative to base both the hypotheses and decisions on valid data. Having only a total number living below the poverty line or knowing what percentage of the population this number comprises is not sufficient to propose any changes. Therefore, the notion of stratification is significant when exploring the issue of poverty. Researchers need to understand what demographic factors contribute to poverty and which groups of people are most affected by the problem. Stratification when collecting data will allow scientists to construct sound hypotheses that may serve as the basis for practical solutions. Data that is not precise may lead to a waste of resources. For instance, imagine a country that has two administrative regions with varying levels of poverty. Lack of stratification will yield only the total number of people living below the poverty line. Researchers may decide to distribute financial aid equally between two regions, but that would be ineffective because one of the areas has higher poverty rates. In summary, stratification allows researchers to fine-tune their efforts when solving the issue.
Racism and Ethnic Inequalities
Race is the basis for many inequalities in contemporary society. Understanding the link between poverty and race may uncover several useful facts. Also, studying poverty within the context of racism may help differentiate between personal factors leading to poverty and institutional issues. For instance, racism and inequality based on ethnicity had been part of American society since the early days of the country (Barkan, 2017). Many thousands of Native Americans were killed, and their culture was devastated by white newcomers (Barkan, 2017). This troubling past still has consequences today – many Native Americans are not in favorable socioeconomic conditions. The same is true for African Americans, who, unfortunately, had to struggle since the institution of slavery was legal in the United States. Lack of opportunities to receive education and have well-paid jobs have contributed to the fact that the significant portion of people living under poverty in the United States is from African American families.
Family Issues
Family issues do not necessarily involve only economic conditions but may be related to interpersonal relations within the family and its general well-being. Exploring the issue of poverty through the prism of family problems may help discover how likely it is that poverty is inherited across generations. For instance, continuous disputes of parents may unfavorably impact a child’s well-being, which may further influence his or her academic performance at school. Subsequent effects may include the impossibility of attending college and involving in criminal activities to earn a living. Exploring family issues help researchers understand where poverty comes from and what long-term consequences of childhood poverty exist. For this reason, family is one of the most significant parts of both sociology and social work. Family social workers can make an enormous difference. Fighting poverty may not always mean distributing money – other sensitive strategies may be more critical.
Economic Inequalities
Extreme poverty is measured in terms of international dollars per day, and economic inequalities are the most significant contributors to global poverty. Therefore, identifying the root causes of economic disparities may help related government agencies and international organizations develop monetary interventions aimed at reducing poverty rates. These measures should be effective and need to make long-term positive impacts. For instance, instead of providing food that will be enough for one week, it might be more practical to build a farm where people may work, grow crops, and earn money. Building schools and teaching essential skills may be another beneficial measure. It is significant to understand the factors that contribute to economic inequality to address this social problem. Without this understanding, there is a high probability that resources will be wasted without resulting in a substantial change. Therefore, the concept of economic inequality is essential when studying the problem of global poverty.
Related Sociological Theory
Despite many controversial aspects, the theory of utilitarianism is existent today. In some cases, it can be seen in economic decisions made by governments around the world, and in others, the theory is used to justify wars and other military conflicts. It may not be apparent in the first place, but the utilitarianist approach can be viewed as the major contributor to global poverty. Therefore, exploring utilitarianist ideas may be the key to understanding what humanity has done wrong throughout history.
The government of the United States often uses a utilitarianist approach to ethics to justify its military interventions in other countries. It constantly states that bombing another state is beneficial for homeland security and that killing hundreds of thousands abroad will save millions at home (Landau, 2019). What the government does not understand is that this approach will have long-term consequences that will span for hundreds of years (Saing & Kazianga, 2017). Among these consequences are poverty within the local population, lack of education, and economic recession. In many countries where the United States was imminently involved, no peace can be found even today. There is a two-way relationship between utilitarianism and poverty. First, the reasons behind poverty demonstrate that the utilitarianist approach to ethics may be fundamentally incorrect. Second, studying and exploring the ideas of the utilitarianist theory may help indicate economic and political decisions that contribute to poverty.
Conclusion
Unfortunately, humans have not been able to solve the problem of global poverty. Unequal distribution of wealth, unethical military confrontations, racism, and ethnic inequalities all contribute to this issue. Exploring this dilemma from the perspective of sociology may help develop effective measures to decrease the magnitude of the problem. For instance, social workers may assist in solving family issues that lead to childhood multidimensional poverty, which is comprised of a lack of education and parental neglect. Comprehensive and stratified data is needed to propose any interventions.
References
Barkan, S. E. (2017). Social problems: Continuity and change. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
Landau, S. (2019). The dangerous doctrine: National security and US foreign policy. New York, NY: Routledge.
Roser, M., & Ortiz-Ospina, E. (2017). Global extreme poverty. Our World in Data.
Saing, C. H., & Kazianga, H. (2016). The long-term impact of the US bombing on education, earning, health, fertility, and marriage in Cambodia. SSRN Electron J. Web.
The World Bank. (2020). Poverty.
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