Overview of key debates

Ideas about poverty are complex, often contradictory and influenced by factors such as personal experiences, value judgements and belief systems. Inevitably definitions of poverty are contested. There is no single, universally accepted definition. The following is a brief overview of the key debates. The debates do not occur in isolation. They are shaped by the political, economic and social contexts in which they take place. There is often a confusion over definitions, causes and measures of poverty. This adds complexity to the debate on how to tackle it.

The following topics are covered below:

The two most commonly used definitions of poverty are "absolute" and "relative" poverty.

Absolute and Relative Poverty

Absolute poverty in the past was used to refer to the level of resources needed to sustain physical survival. People are poor if they cannot feed, clothe or house themselves and their dependants. However the resources needed for survival and the ways in which they are acquired change with time and location. Moreover, as people’s lives change, the necessities they require also change. “An adequate minimum is itself defined by what is socially acceptable”. It is for this reason that the Scottish Executive is currently using the term "absolute poverty" to refer to 60% of median income in 1997- i.e. using 1997 as a base measure, uprated by price inflation only. The poverty line, using this measure, is £75 per week for a single person and £210 for a family with two children between 5 and 11. On this measure 13 per cent of children in 2003 still live below the poverty level of 1997, 16 per cent of working age adults and 15 per cent of pensioners.

Relative poverty is defined in relation to the standards of living in a society at a particular time. People live in poverty when they are denied an income sufficient for their material needs, and when these circumstances exclude them from taking part in activities which are an accepted part of daily life in that society. 60 per cent of median income is considered a reasonable way to measure this. One problem with this definition is that in an affluent society it could become difficult to distinguish between those who are poor and those who are just less well off; some commentators argue that relative definitions necessarily refer to inequality, not poverty. Despite its shortcomings the relative measure of poverty is valuable insofar as poverty is defined by the standards of society as it is today. The relative poverty line in 2002 was £84 per week (after housing costs) for a single person and £225 for a couple with two children between 5 and 11. On this measure 29 per cent of children, 22 per cent of working age adults and 24 per cent of pensioners remain in poverty.

Social Exclusion

This refers to the process by which people are prevented from participating in economic, social, cultural or political aspects of society, often, but not always, because they are affected by poverty, deprivation or discrimination.

Social Justice

Social justice is a broad and contested term. Definitions vary across the political spectrum; they include ideas of distributive justice, utilitarian themes, equality, and libertarian ideas of governance. The Commission on Social Justice, set up in 1992 by the late John Smith to carry out an independent inquiry into economic and social reform, noted that social justice consisted of 4 key ideas:

  • "the equal worth of all citizens
  • citizens' entitlement to be able to meet their basic needs
  • the widest possible spread of opportunities
  • the reduction or elimination of unjust inequalities"

The Scottish Executive, while not defining Social Justice, used the phrase to cover its commitment to tackling poverty and disadvantage in Scottish communities.

Poverty and Work

The key tool in the government strategy to tackle poverty is to move people from welfare to work. Work, however, does not guarantee freedom from poverty. Unskilled workers, women, ethnic minorities and young workers are all more likely than others to be low paid. These jobs also tend to be more insecure. This means that many people live through a cycle of "low pay, no pay, low pay". The government, in an effort to ensure that work does pay, has introduced both a National Minimum Wage and a range of in-work benefits administered through the tax system. Yet according to the New Policy Institute almost half of those adults and children living below the low income threshold are in working households (excluding pensioners).

There is a debate about the appropriate level for the minimum wage. The Low Pay Unit and the Council of Europe's Decency Threshold have both set higher minimum hourly rates than the current UK level. Employer's organisations continue to lobby for lower rates claiming a high minimum wage will lead to job cuts.

Indicators of Deprivation

Social deprivation is a wider term than poverty. It is very often an outcome of poverty and the impact poverty has on people’s basic living standards. Peter Townsend's definition is:

“People can be said to be deprived if they lack the type of diets, clothing, housing, household facilities and fuel and environmental, educational, working and social conditions, activities and facilities which are customary, or at least widely encouraged and approved, in the societies to which they belong.”

Defining what is socially acceptable as basic is difficult but the Social Justice Indicators in Scotland and Opportunity for All Indicators in England do give some measure. They include, for example, indicators relating to health and education and set standards of decency in housing and jobs.

The Family Budget Unit’s ‘Low Cost But Acceptable’ minimum income standard for families and individuals provides an estimate of the level of income necessary to provide a ‘living wage’ below which good health, child development and social inclusion are threatened. They argue that to cover a low cost but socially acceptable budget that provides ‘warmth and shelter, a healthy palatable diet, allows social integration and avoids chronic stress’ a lone mother with two children under 11 living in Wales in 2001 would have needed a minimum weekly income of £310.

The Scottish Executive also have a set of Indices of Deprivation for Scotland which can be accessed on their website.

Poverty and Inequality

As stated above some argue that relative poverty is a measure of inequality, not of poverty. Inequality in poverty research refers to the differences in income and wealth between individuals and groups in a society. Comparisons of income are based on comparing salaries, wages and other income such as benefits. Wealth comparisons include income but also other assets such as property, land, and stocks and shares. There is also a great deal of related research into, for example, inequalities in health and educational attainment among and across income and wealth groups. These are all areas of intense debate as are the the relationships and causes of these inequalities.

A common measure of inequality is the Gini Coefficient. This is a statistical tool to measure inequality, put simply if in a society if everyone has the same amount of something then the coefficient is 0 and if one person has all the money and everyone else has none the coefficient would be 100. IPPR research indicates that the Gini Coefficent for disposable income in Britain has increased from 33 in 1996/7 to 36 in 2001/2. The coefficient for wealth in 2001 was 70.

Causes and Solutions

There is much debate about what poverty is. This means the causes and solutions to it are also hotly debated. Again this is related to the political and economic climate. The following is an overview of debates round the causes of poverty and solutions linked to these political and economic ideas.

Trickle Down

This theory, popular in the 1980s, held that poverty would be most effectively dealt with through a properly functioning market economy. The function of government was to enable wealth to be created. This wealth would then "trickle down" through the labour force. While income differential would exist in absolute terms even the lowest paid would be better off. Support for this view is often linked to a belief in poverty as absolute poverty and relative poverty as inequality.

Cycles of Deprivation

This theory is based on the observation that poverty often runs in families. Some commentators have argued that this is because the negative attitudes and values which discourage people from breaking out of poverty are passed on through families. In order to break this cycle people in poverty had to change their attitudes and values to prevent them being transmitted to their children.

This type of argument can be said to blame people for their poverty; it can also be linked to theories about an underclass.

The Underclass

The concept of an underclass can be found across the political spectrum. Theories can be broadly grouped into cultural and structural.

Cultural theorists, like Charles Murray, define people not by their experience of poverty but by their attitudes to that experience. The main features of the underclass are, allegedly, their fecklessness, unwillingness to get a job, criminal behaviour and loose morals (e.g. lone parents). The solution is to punish bad behaviour and reward (with benefits) good. Structural theorists see the underclass as the result of changes in the structure of society. The solution lies in education, training and job creation. Even within this group there can be a belief that some sort of coercion is necessary. This is not a new idea: Victorians referred to the "undeserving and deserving poor".

Dependency

Linked to ideas of an underclass is the concept of a "culture of dependency". This is based on the belief that a generous welfare system provides no incentive for people to find work and take responsibility for the welfare of themselves and their families. This group are considered a burden on the rest of society in that they are seen as a cause of high taxes for others and a drain on the economy. It is also argued that it is the welfare system that disempowers people by making them dependent on state benefits.

Rights and Responsibilities

This theory has become influential recently. Popularised by Amitai Etzioni, versions of this theory are to be found across the political spectrum. It has been particularly influential on New Labour. The theory holds that too much emphasis has been placed on the individual's rights and very little on the responsibilities which go with these rights.

Voices of the Poor

Many people who experience poverty in their own lives are able to define poverty and analyse it and its causes for themselves. Increasingly policy makers have attempted to include people living in poverty in debates around policy analysis and development. This type of research leads to the expansion of definitions of poverty to include not just low income and deprivation, but also the lack of power and influence in the society in which you live and vulnerability to violence and fear.

This is a very brief overview of these debates. A fuller critique can be found in Poverty in Scotland 2002 and the Unit's briefing sheets. All are available to download free on this site.