Poverty as a social issue

Overview

Absolute, relative and subjective poverty, Townsend's relative deprivation, the culture of poverty, Murray and the underclass, the welfare state, and the four perspectives on poverty.

What you need to know

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Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   What is the difference between absolute and relative poverty?

   Model answer

   Absolute poverty is lacking the basic necessities needed to survive, such as food, water and shelter. Relative poverty is having much less than the normal standard of living in a society. Subjective poverty is feeling poor by one's own standards.

2. 2

   How is relative poverty officially measured in the UK?

   Model answer

   The UK government counts a household as poor if its income is below 60% of median household income. Around one in five people were in relative poverty after housing costs (DWP, 2022/23).

3. 3

   Who was Peter Townsend, and how did he research poverty?

   Model answer

   Peter Townsend was a British sociologist whose Poverty in the United Kingdom appeared in 1979. Townsend's team used questionnaires with over 2,000 households across the UK in 1968–69.

4. 4

   What three ways of measuring poverty did Townsend compare?

   Model answer

   The state standard counts as poor anyone with income below the level at which benefits can be claimed. The relative income standard compares a household's income with the average for similar households. Townsend preferred a third measure, relative deprivation.

5. 5

   What did Townsend mean by relative deprivation?

   Model answer

   Relative deprivation is lacking the resources to share in the diet, activities and living conditions that are normal in a society. A family that cannot afford a school trip or a birthday party is relatively deprived.

6. 6

   What was Townsend's deprivation index, and what did it show?

   Model answer

   The index scored households on items such as diet, fuel, clothing, housing and social activities. Townsend's measure put over a fifth of the population in poverty in 1968–69, far more than official measures.

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