Is Anyone to Blame for Poverty?

In the nineteenth century it was strongly felt that the poor only had themselves to blame, that they were lazy and did not bother to look for work. In some societies this belief is still held.  Looked at baldly the idea comes as a surprise, surely no one would chose to be poor. Being poor means not being able to buy necessities like food and clothes, it means not being able to fund educational opportunities, not being able to pay for leisure activities.  

There was a program on TV in the nineties in Britain, about a household which was established along the lines of an Edwardian middle class family.  The participants were all volunteers who agree to work as their characters would have done in the past.  The subtleties of hierarchy in the servants hall was established as it would have been then.

A few weeks after the project was started the cast were asked how they felt about the part they had played and how they thought others felt about it.   The man who played the master of the house felt the whole thing had gone very well and that everyone had enjoyed their role.  When the ‘servants’ were interviewed they were seething with anger about the ‘upstairs’ people and felt they had been taken advantage of and under appreciated. All had worked hard. 

In the past those who worked as servants were in an honest job but it was out of necessity, yet they had work.  For those who had no skills, no education to a basic level, anything other than a laborer was out of their ability.  These are invariably the individuals who lose their jobs first. 

While the same applies today, with many leaving school under equipped for the modern world, even well qualified people lose jobs and when times are financially difficult as they are now, getting another is a full time job in itself.  The result is a serious drop in income. Add marital breakup, the effects of depression and the mess that happens to some individuals and there is a sense of helplessness about earning money. How do you get started again?

In the third world the levels of poverty are unbelievable.  Families subsist on minute amounts of income.  The opportunity to better themselves is impossible.  Often if there is any education about it goes to the boys and the girls are ignored.  There is a saying, educate a man and you educate an individual, educate a woman and you educate a family.

In spite of legislation, about equal opportunities to which lip service is paid, about work and pay, women are by far the poorest in society. It is partly the fault of men thinking women are inadequate but also it is women who mock the ‘career’ woman hinting she is unfeminine.  

The causes of poverty are complex and universal.  It is to do with attitudes, beliefs, perceptions and established patterns of work. There always have been and always will be individuals who do not cope for a variety of reasons. Someone always rises to the top and others slide down the scale. 

Perhaps as a society which is supposed to be civilized, in the sense of considerate and humane, looking after those more vulnerable than ourselves should be higher on the list of priorities. The arguments about welfare range.  There will always be people who take advantage of the system, but without having a safety net for those who have periods of financial struggle, or who do not have the ability to improve their way of life, what sort of community are we?