SOC 3209: Poverty Analysis

Weeks 4 – 6

The Social
Friday, 16: 15 – 19: 10 hours
Position of
the Person Dionne Frank
Department of Sociology
Faculty of Social Sciences
 • The social position of the poor

• The economic position of the poor

• The political position of the poor

Sub-topics
• Dependence on external forces

• Factors that militate against the

poor
 • Analyse critical concepts
associated with people’s social
position

Objectives • Examine the unequal distribution

of wealth

• Determine the impact of external

forces
 The social position of the
poor
Key concepts to note in any discourse relating to the
positions of people
• Social position
• Social structure
• Social status
• Social location
• Class position
• Social situation
Social position

• SOCIAL POSITION

A "unit of social structure," or an "element," or a "component" of that

structure (Derczynski, 1970)

The position that one occupies in the social structure, recognizing its
stratified nature along social group lines.

SOCIAL POSITION is also referred to as SOCIAL IDENTITY

• Social positions may be general in nature (those associated with gender

roles) or may be more specific [occupational positions] (Giddens, 2009)
 Social position can be examined from various
perspectives

Social The position according to social power relations

position
and interest relations.

Sociological and anthropological definitions of

social position consist of various elements,
representing various characteristics of individuals,
groups, and aspects of social phenomena
Social position cont’d

• Some social positions are lifelong – e. g. Caste

• Social position can constrain people’s choices and possibilities

• Firestone speaks of a 'SEX CLASS' to describe women's social

position and argues that women can be emancipated only
through the abolition of the family and the power relations
which characterize it.
Social position cont’d

• The conflict theory (in a narrow sense) and elite theory

conceptions define ’SOCIAL POSITIONS’ or class positions
expressly from other points of view (property, occupation,
qualification, type of contract, etc.)

• The positions defined in this way are linked to power relations

and partly to interest relations.
 • Reflect on the different ways in which social positions of
some groups are perceived in the Guyanese society and
answer the following questions accordingly
• What five factors contribute to the social
position of Guyanese women?

Group • How do the identified factors affect the

personal and economic development of
Activity women?

• What are three recommendations for the

Government of Guyana to enhance the social
positions of women?

Substitutes: Youth, persons with disability, teenage mothers, mentally ill,

elderly, Amerindians (minority)
Factors Influencing Social Position

• INCOME - wages and salaries earned from paid occupations plus money
received from investments (Giddens et al, 2009)
• CLASS SYSTEM - A system of social hierarchy that allows individuals to
move among classes. The four chief bases of class are ownership of
wealth, occupation, income, and education.
• CASTE - people are believed to be born into a certain status that they
occupy for life (Giddens et al., 2009)
• LIFE CHANCES - introduced by Max Weber to signify a person’s
opportunities for achieving economic prosperity.
• GENDER – characteristics of women, men, boys and girls that are socially
constructed.
Social Structure

• Patterns of interaction between individuals or groups.

• Most human activities are structured: they are organized in a

regular and repetitive way.

• Although the comparison can be misleading, it is handy to think

of the social structure of a society as the foundation
underpinning a building and hold it together
Social Stratification

• Social Stratification - inequalities that exist between

individuals and groups within human societies … extending
beyond assets or property to include attributes, such as
gender, age, religious affiliation or military rank (Giddens,
2009)

• Simply be defined as structured inequalities between different

groupings of people.

• Some researcher use the term social inequality and social

stratification interchangeably
Social Stratification: Natural vs Social
Inequalities
• Natural inequalities - Some societies believe in a biological,
physical or natural transmission of social inequality (e.g. Jean-
Jacques Rousseau)
• Differences in age (Agism)
• Health
• Body strength
• Quality of the mind

• Social inequality is based on the following:

• Different privileges
• Prejudice of others
Three basic characteristics socially stratified systems

• Socially Stratified Systems apply to social categories of people, who share a common
characteristic without necessarily interacting or identifying with one another
(Solomon, 2003). E. g . Women may be ranked differently from men or wealthy people
differently from the poor).

• People's life experiences and opportunities depend heavily on how their social
category is ranked. E.g. Being male or female, black or white, upper class or working
class makes a big difference in terms of your life chances

• The ranks of different social categories tend to change very slowly over time. E. g.
women’s advancement to work outside the home
Basic Systems of
Social
Stratification
Slavery

Caste

Estates

Class
Basic Systems of Social Stratification:
Slavery

• Slavery is an extreme form of inequality, in which certain people are

owned as property by others

• Slaves are generally deprived of their rights

• The practice of slavery excluded people as follows:

• Political positions
• Education
Basic Systems of Social Stratification:
Caste
• Caste system - social system in which one's social
position is given for a lifetime

• Many societies practise fatalism (Caste system)– the idea that

what happens (or has happened) in some sense has to (or had
to) happen. Sub-cultures usually develop in stratified societies

• Social mobility restricts some people from moving up to a higher

class or group
Basic Systems of Social Stratification:
Caste cont’d

• In caste systems,
• Social status is based on personal characteristics - such as perceived
race or ethnicity (often based on such physical characteristics as skin
colour), parental religion or parental caste that are accidents of birth
and are therefore believed to be unchangeable

• Intimate contact with members of other castes is strongly discouraged.

• Purity of a caste is often maintained by rules of endogamy, marriage

within one's social group as required by custom or law.
Basic Systems of Social Stratification:
Estates
• Estates were part of European feudalism, but also existed in many
other traditional civilizations.
• Feudal estates consisted of strata with differing obligations and
rights towards each other, some of these differences being
established in law.
• Estates Rankings
• Aristocracy and gentry – Noble birth

• Clergy - Lower status than aristocracy, but has some amount of privileges

• Commoners - serfs, free peasants, merchants and artisans

• NB: Social mobility is possible within estates, unlike caste systems
Basic Systems of Social Stratification:
Class
• Class - socioeconomic variations among groups of individuals
that create variations in their material prosperity and power.

• Decisions made by individuals about their consumption of goods,

services and culture. Lifestyle choices have been seen by many
sociologists as important reflections of class positions.

• Class systems are fluid (upper, middle, lower)

• Class position are achieved in some cases
• Economically based
• Large scale and impersonal
Philosophical Perspectives on
Stratification
• Functional Perspective
• Based on functional theories of a society’s operation
• Assumes the existence of certain prerequisite for the functioning of
society
• Stratification is examined to determine how far it meets the prerequisites

• Marxist Perspective
• Radical view of stratification
• Focuses on social strata, rather than social inequality
• Power among the ruling class comes from oppression and exploitation
• Political and legal systems use power to serve their interest

Haralambos and Herald (2004)

Philosophical Perspectives on
Stratification Cont’d
Weberian (Max Weber
• A modification of Marx’s position
• Multidimensional view of society.
• Society as characterized by conflicts over power and
resources
• Social stratification is not simply a matter of class. It is
shaped by two further aspects:
• Status
• Party
Social status

• Social status - attributes of an individual as occupation,

income, ownership, and power, education and prestige [that]
divide people into a hierarchy of social classes or strata
(Derczynski, 1970, 34)
• The social honour or prestige accorded to a person or a particular group
by other members of a society. Status groups normally involve distinct
styles of life - patterns of behaviour which the members of a group follow.

• Status privilege may be positive or negative.

• 'Pariah' status groups are regarded with disdain, or treated as outcasts,

by the majority of the population.
The economic position of the poor

• The ’have’ and the ‘have-nots’

• Income inequality – the gap in income, where the wealtiest
members of society possess the greatest concentration of
income (Giffords & Garber, 2016)
• Top 1% of earners acquiring 93% of the income
• Characteristics of people living in poverty
• Minority groups
• More females than males
• People younger than 18 and over 65
The political position of the poor

• Governance - way countries and societies manage their affairs politically

and the way power and authority are exercised.
• Poorest and most vulnerable – Good or bad governance makes a difference
• Inability of government institutions to prevent conflict, provide basic
security, or basic services can have life-or-death consequences
• The lack of opportunity can prevent generations of poor families
• Keep the poor in poverty
• Make unable to grow economically
• Makes them dependent of others
• Traps them in a cycle of aid-dependency.
The political position of the poor cont’d

• Poverty is shaped by the combination of power resources and

institutions
• Governments’ control taxes has contributed to the state having a
central role in addressing poverty and inequality
• Poor people can gain power through mobilisation (e.g. work)
• Power resources affect distribution of earnings and employment
• Power resources (bonding around common interest)
• Expansion of welfare is determined by the rational self-interest of the
poor and working class
Dependence on external forces

• Why?

• Political instability
• Inability to manage natural resources
• Path dependency - the notion that previous/certain
institutions set states to where few choices are possible
• Treaties
 • External forces
Dependence • Multilaterals
on external • Other governments
• Interest groups
forces • International Financial Institutions
(IMF, IDAB, CDB, World Bank)
• Regional Blocs (CARICOM, UNASAR)
Dependence on external forces

• Types of external contribution

• Aid
• Grant
• Technical support
• Structural Adjustment
• Debt financing and write off
• Concessions

Suggested resources
• Dead Aid - https://gdsnet.org/Dambisa_moyo_DeadAidForward.pdf
• Life and Debt (
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzGUyH0qA1LGHeCVDmC8mK-QDcism
YuZq
)
Summary Class Duscussion

Identify and discuss factors that militate against the poor

References
• Giddens, A. (2009). Sociology, 6th ed. Polity Press.
• Haralambos, M. and Holborn, M. (2013). Sociology: Themes
and Perspectives, 8th ed. Harper Collins Pub.
• Mooney, Linda A., Knox, David & Schacht, Caroline. (2011).
Understanding Social Problems, 7th Edition. Thomson
Wadsworth Publishers.