Mini Review

Psychology of Poverty - Don’t the Poor Have a Place on Earth?

Yener Özen^1,2*

¹Department of Educational Sciences, Kyrgyzstan-Turkey Manas University, Turkey

²Department of Educational Sciences, Erzincan Binali Yıldırım University, Turkey

Submission: December 16, 2019; Published: January 17, 2020

*Corresponding author: Yener Özen, Faculty of Literature, Department of Educational Sciences, Kyrgyzstan-Turkey Manas University & Faculty of Education, Department of Educational Sciences, Erzincan Binali Yıldırım University, Turkey

How to cite this article:Yener Özen. Psychology of Poverty - Don’t the Poor Have a Place on Earth?. Psychol Behav Sci Int J. 2020; 14(2): 555883. DOI:10.19080/PBSIJ.2020.14.555883.

Keywords: Poverty; Political economy; Social labor; Psychological factors; Violence; Lifestyle; Prototypes; Environment

Mini Review

As a socio-economic problem, poverty has been on the agenda of the political economy throughout world history. During recent years, its scope and comprehension have become immense with the political and societal transformations sweeping all around the world, thereby coming to the fore for the vast majority of the countries. The political economy of today’s world dominated by liberal capitalism poses significant societal challenges such as the destruction of the environment, wars, and violence [1].

Poverty is a universal phenomenon we encounter as both cause and effect of many social problems, seen almost in all societies, and particularly, and in the recent years, discussed on it and attempted to be produced solution ways. As known, poverty is, just as in every period of history, one of the most important social problems that many countries are also obliged to cope with in the present day [2]. In related to prevent this social problem, although a variety of solution ways were produced throughout history and applied, as a result of changing social conditions, problem of poverty has become more complicated in every passing day with the effect of differing economic, social, political, cultural, and psychological factors. First of all, the poor persons, who cannot contribute to the requirement of qualified labor, one of the major block stones of economic activities, are seen as a risk factor, particularly economic point of view in the society they live The fact that they do not participate in the process of social labor and that they make a living with only welfares are also an important problem source for the economy of country.

Violence, asserting itself in various forms such as oppression, suicide, and murder, is one of the most formidable problems of our age. Nowadays, the capacity and volume of the violence are beyond comparison with the previous decades. In other words, violence is tremendously on the rise all around the world [3]. It is impossible to say that poverty brings a problem for only the other people in society. Poverty certainly influences everybody living in society. The dimension of influence differs according to the individuals facing poverty, but it is clear that the children being devoid of possibilities providing with existing as them in the society and of having a good future experience the poverty more intensively compared to the other individuals. On the other hand, there is a cause-result relationship between poverty and violence. As a conclusion, the policies to bring down the power will also reduce the violence in a direct way, and vice versa. So, every policy and application that is applying for decrease will also care for the purpose of the canceling poverty and violence vicious circle. To cancel, this vicious circle, the programs, and strategies that struggle with poverty and the social policy applications that protect and develop the main human rights should be put forward and it should be attempt a struggle that is about violence [4]. Another point becoming remarkable in becoming that poverty problem is one of the most important problems of today is closely related to the process of social exclusion the poor persons live. Along with the prosperity that increases, due to a number of disintegrations experienced in the society economically, socially, culturally, and spatially from a lot of aspects, many individuals, who differ thoroughly and become unfamiliar to each other’s living stepdads, live together with the poor persons. The disintegrations, which may be experienced in social structure, certainly include the threatening elements for the social order.

As known, the most basic discussion about poor people is economic axial. Even though these pioneer studies and discussions are carried out, predominating socioeconomic features, it is possible to say that the problem is considered with the more holistic approach. These holistic approaches facilitated to be taken steps toward improving poverty at least. While this study is shaped in order to introduce sociologically the dimensions of both phenomenon and problem of poverty, “the theory of poverty culture “based on “the views on transforming of poverty into the lifestyle” is also mentioned. Specifically, this study must be evaluated as they search for understanding how the problem “welfare”, one of the practices of the social state toward improving poverty and a highly problematic for today’s liberal economies, exists in the practical plane and how a relationship way produces. In this context, in the study, before anything else, what the poverty is; from which aspects of is discussed; and the concepts and processes on poverty are considered in a theoretical plane. Then, that sociology, whose fundamental matter is social order, discusses the phenomenon poverty on how an axis, is attempted to be analyzed and mentioned about discussions on poverty culture and the effect of social exclusion factor through the problematic “forming of poverty a lifestyle” [5]. Poverty is a phenomenon having concrete indicators in the social structure. Still, in the scope of this study, a field survey analyzing the situation the poor people are incorporated with the action dimensions of poor life was carried out. In this context, the perception way related to poverty and poor life was attempted to be read through the poor people receiving welfare, specifically. Through official institutes and non-governmental organizations, since the field survey carried out with the poor people receiving welfare from these institutes continuously include the poor people receiving welfare, it includes the important clues about the lifestyle of poor people we can consider in this category [6].

As we mentioned earlier, its first part is a place where the phenomenon of poverty is considered and discussed in the theoretical plane. With movement from this point, first of all, it is touched on that the essence of the concept of poverty, then the phenomenon poverty in the literature is considered from the theoretical point of view, and the studies of pioneer poverty are mentioned. The analyses about the theory of poverty culture are also included in the first section. As known, the fact that the lifestyle the poverty created becomes an established culture between poor individuals is, of course, can be the reason for various social problems. But, from the other aspect, the thesis of the poverty culture caused major critics on the point of evaluating poor people. In the study, the theory of poverty culture is interpreted on the axis of the discussions mentioned after analyses about the essence of the theory, generally. The second section of the study is divided into two parts in itself. The first part includes the information and data on the methodology of the study. Here, besides the aim, universe, limitations, type, and technique of field survey are specified, the specifications of the questionnaire used in the survey are mentioned. Then, the findings obtained from the survey are included. In this context, the social indicators of poverty and poor living and their economic and social dimensions are analyzed. The analysis of attitudes of poor individuals interviewed related to some statements about poverty is carried out [7].

Finally, in the light of field survey, the social views of poverty and poverty culture are attempted to be portrayed and theoretically, assessments about some statements are made. The results of this study are compared to the prototype presented by theoreticians of poverty culture about the situation they expressed with this definition. As a result of this comparison, while the poverty culture is defined, the troubles of introducing the strict cliché variables are touched on. In this context, it is concluded that the poor persons, especially those receiving welfare periodically have similar life conditions in emotional, physical, environmental, and economic senses and share the same troubles. However, the similarities of interest do not match some part of prototypes presented by the theoreticians of poverty culture and that they have remarkable differences with the influence of cultural and religious elements are under consideration. Indeed, this is also a situation belonging to the relative nature of poverty. Just as culture guises an inherent form, being affected by certain social elements, the poverty culture also presents a structure-forming with all dynamics affecting the environments they emerge and form.

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