Communication and Sociology
Sociology and Poverty
Poverty, in absolute terms, is defined as a lack of the things considered basic for human survival. There are many causes of poverty; sociologists, however, explain the existence of poverty using two major approaches -- the structural-functionalism approach and the conflict approach (Andersen & Taylor, 2007). The structural-functionalism theory postulates that poverty is inevitable and is in fact one of the human processes that are necessary for the stability and continuity of society (Andersen & Taylor, 2007). Just as is the case with inequality and stratification, poverty is beneficial to society because it creates a balance that ensures that the best people occupy the most important positions, and the less worthy remain at the bottom (Andersen & Taylor, 2007). The conflict approach agrees with the argument that poverty is inevitable, but disputes the idea that it is beneficial, arguing that poverty exists only because the people at the top of the hierarchy are always inclined to increase their wealth at the expense of those at the bottom (Andersen & Taylor, 2007).
Currently, 7 million families in America are living below the poverty line (Kornblum, 2007). However, poverty affects black and Hispanic families, more than it does white families. One of the obvious reasons a family would be poor is that...
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