The Benefits of Poverty. :(
I just told a friend of mine that learning can be sad and depressing. Here is why..
I am taking a sociology class. I have to read various essays and apply sociological theories to different subjects, one of those being poverty.
Functionalism is a theory that describes Society as being organized towards maintaining order. Society is held together by a set of social institutions (family, media, religion) each of which has a specific function in society to meet human need. One of those social insitutions would be poverty.
How does poverty function to meet human need? Well get comfortable and let me tell you!
One of the essays I have to read was written by Herbert J. Gans in 1971 called "The Uses of Poverty: The Poor Pay All." Gans argues against Functionalist ideas about how poverty actually has positive functions in regards to society. What are some of those positive functions?
Gans lists 13..but I will only sample 5.
1. Poverty ensures that society's "dirty work" will be done. The phsycally "dirty or dangerous, temporary, dead-end and underpaid, undignified and menial jobs". "Such occupations found in restaurants, hospitals, parts of the garment industry, and "truck farming" could not persist in their present form without the poor".
(Note: Bush signed the bill today to build a wall along the Mexican/US border to block Mexican immigrants the opportunity to do these very jobs. I wonder who is going to build the wall..)
2. Since the "poor are required to work at low wages, they subsidize a variety of economic activities that benefit the affluent." The maid does all the cleaning which frees up Mama Rich woman with enough time and energy to devote to "professional, cultural, civic and partying activities". Also, because the "poor pay a higher proportion of their income in property and sales taxes, among others, they subsidize many state and local government services that benefit more affluent groups." For example: state education. Everyone in the state of California pays for the UC and Cal State educational system. Unfortunately not all of us can get into these schools.
3. "The poor also serve as a direct cultural function when culture created by or for them is adopted by the affluent." "Almost all Americans listen to the blues, Negro spirituals, and country music, which originated among the Southern poor". Hip-hop wasn't popular when Gan's wrote this piece- but I think we can agree that Hip Hop has been 'adopted' as well, can we not?
4. "The poor help to gaurantee the status of those who are not poor". I don't think this needs an explanation.
5. Lastly and this is important because it is timely: "The Poor facilitate and stablize the American political process.. Since they can rarely support Republicans, they often provide the Democrats with a captive consituency that has no other place to go." The Democrats are garunteed the poor vote- so they don't have to cater to them or address their needs at all, and then they can focus on Middle Class America instead. Right now the Democrats are poised to take over the House and the Senate after the November elections. Make note of the 'promises' being made in order to get themselves elected. Who are those promises being made to? How many of those promises will be kept?
So, essentially, poverty has many positive functions that serve to benefit the affluent.
I am not exactly sure why I am posting this. "Misery loves company" maybe? I'm depressed so I want to force you, my one and only reader, to be depressed as well?
While, reading the essay I couldn't keep my educational distance. My feelings were hurt because largely this is true. I don't wanna work a Mc Donalds (#1)! If ever I feel sorry for myself I say..well at least I am not poor and then proceed to compare myself to those who are less well off (#4). I went to a UC and some poor person working at Mc Donalds (an employer I thumb my nose at) helped pay for it (#2)! Finally, I idealistically and naively felt that Democrats want to and will help us poor black folks (#5)! (I still feel that they are better than Republicans- I'm stubborn-sue me). OH yeah..I'm not exactly poor so scratch the "us" part.
So, in actuality, my feelings weren't hurt. I felt shame for the feelings and thoughts that I recognized in myself that were in agreement with these statements. Shame, because I grew up poor, so it's really ironic that I would have those feelings in the first place. I, also, felt a measure of empathy for those that are still struggling to rise out this social insitution. And sadness, not just because of the odds stacked against them but also because of the 'attitude' towards poverty that was described above. I can tell you that it was demoralizing for me to even sense a superior attitude from someone else in regards to my situation. I can only imagine what it must be like to live with that every day.
My friend responded to my depressing observation about learning by saying "No it's enlightening!" I didn't agree with him at the time..but now I do. I am enlightened to the fact that MY attitude needs adjusting. I do a fair amount of community service- but it's not enough. I need to 'remember' that I am pay check away from being poor and check myself before I develop an attitude of superiority...
Hopefully continued education will help in this endeavor and make my new chosen career path all the more meaningful.
Oh.. that's another positive function of poverty by the way: "Poverty creates jobs for a number of occupations and professions that serve or 'service' the poor.."
Dang..Damned if I do..damned if I don't!
I am taking a sociology class. I have to read various essays and apply sociological theories to different subjects, one of those being poverty.
Functionalism is a theory that describes Society as being organized towards maintaining order. Society is held together by a set of social institutions (family, media, religion) each of which has a specific function in society to meet human need. One of those social insitutions would be poverty.
How does poverty function to meet human need? Well get comfortable and let me tell you!
One of the essays I have to read was written by Herbert J. Gans in 1971 called "The Uses of Poverty: The Poor Pay All." Gans argues against Functionalist ideas about how poverty actually has positive functions in regards to society. What are some of those positive functions?
Gans lists 13..but I will only sample 5.
1. Poverty ensures that society's "dirty work" will be done. The phsycally "dirty or dangerous, temporary, dead-end and underpaid, undignified and menial jobs". "Such occupations found in restaurants, hospitals, parts of the garment industry, and "truck farming" could not persist in their present form without the poor".
(Note: Bush signed the bill today to build a wall along the Mexican/US border to block Mexican immigrants the opportunity to do these very jobs. I wonder who is going to build the wall..)
2. Since the "poor are required to work at low wages, they subsidize a variety of economic activities that benefit the affluent." The maid does all the cleaning which frees up Mama Rich woman with enough time and energy to devote to "professional, cultural, civic and partying activities". Also, because the "poor pay a higher proportion of their income in property and sales taxes, among others, they subsidize many state and local government services that benefit more affluent groups." For example: state education. Everyone in the state of California pays for the UC and Cal State educational system. Unfortunately not all of us can get into these schools.
3. "The poor also serve as a direct cultural function when culture created by or for them is adopted by the affluent." "Almost all Americans listen to the blues, Negro spirituals, and country music, which originated among the Southern poor". Hip-hop wasn't popular when Gan's wrote this piece- but I think we can agree that Hip Hop has been 'adopted' as well, can we not?
4. "The poor help to gaurantee the status of those who are not poor". I don't think this needs an explanation.
5. Lastly and this is important because it is timely: "The Poor facilitate and stablize the American political process.. Since they can rarely support Republicans, they often provide the Democrats with a captive consituency that has no other place to go." The Democrats are garunteed the poor vote- so they don't have to cater to them or address their needs at all, and then they can focus on Middle Class America instead. Right now the Democrats are poised to take over the House and the Senate after the November elections. Make note of the 'promises' being made in order to get themselves elected. Who are those promises being made to? How many of those promises will be kept?
So, essentially, poverty has many positive functions that serve to benefit the affluent.
I am not exactly sure why I am posting this. "Misery loves company" maybe? I'm depressed so I want to force you, my one and only reader, to be depressed as well?
While, reading the essay I couldn't keep my educational distance. My feelings were hurt because largely this is true. I don't wanna work a Mc Donalds (#1)! If ever I feel sorry for myself I say..well at least I am not poor and then proceed to compare myself to those who are less well off (#4). I went to a UC and some poor person working at Mc Donalds (an employer I thumb my nose at) helped pay for it (#2)! Finally, I idealistically and naively felt that Democrats want to and will help us poor black folks (#5)! (I still feel that they are better than Republicans- I'm stubborn-sue me). OH yeah..I'm not exactly poor so scratch the "us" part.
So, in actuality, my feelings weren't hurt. I felt shame for the feelings and thoughts that I recognized in myself that were in agreement with these statements. Shame, because I grew up poor, so it's really ironic that I would have those feelings in the first place. I, also, felt a measure of empathy for those that are still struggling to rise out this social insitution. And sadness, not just because of the odds stacked against them but also because of the 'attitude' towards poverty that was described above. I can tell you that it was demoralizing for me to even sense a superior attitude from someone else in regards to my situation. I can only imagine what it must be like to live with that every day.
My friend responded to my depressing observation about learning by saying "No it's enlightening!" I didn't agree with him at the time..but now I do. I am enlightened to the fact that MY attitude needs adjusting. I do a fair amount of community service- but it's not enough. I need to 'remember' that I am pay check away from being poor and check myself before I develop an attitude of superiority...
Hopefully continued education will help in this endeavor and make my new chosen career path all the more meaningful.
Oh.. that's another positive function of poverty by the way: "Poverty creates jobs for a number of occupations and professions that serve or 'service' the poor.."
Dang..Damned if I do..damned if I don't!
posted by Tonya at
8:57 PM
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