AQA Specification: AS Requirements - -examine different definitions and ways of measuring poverty, wealth and income -examine the distribution of wealth between social groups -examine the existence and persistence of poverty in society today -examine the different responses to poverty - examine the role of welfare provision Key concepts: Wealth = value of all possessions of an individual - defined by official statistics Marketable wealth = things you can sell Non-marketable wealth = salary/ pension funds etc. Income = money received on a monthly or yearly basis Absolute poverty = no income to afford basics Relative poverty = lack the minimum amount of income needed in order to maintain the average standard of living in the society in which they live Relative deprivation =the lack of resources to sustain the diet, lifestyle, activities and amenities that an individual or group are accustomed to or that are widely encouraged or approved in the society to which they belong Capitalism = an economic system in a country where industries and companies are owned and controlled privately Welfare = the provision of minimum level of well-being and support for citizens
Key research/theoretical approaches: Bradshaw (1990) - Budget standard measure of poverty -Studied the spending patterns of the least wealthy to help calculate an adequate budget. Looked at how people spend their money and the total cost of essential items Townsend (1979) - Relative deprivation Mack and Lansley (1985) - Measured poverty in a Consensual approach -used a survey to determined items perceived as necessities (ended up with 22 items), they then surveyed households to find out which necessities they lacked - if a household involuntarily lacked three or more items they were labelled as poor EXPLANATIONS OF WELATH DISTRIBUTION: Early theories - blamed the poor for being poor - the poor were those who had failed Functionalists - unequal distribution of wealth is good for society -helps to allocate people to suitable jobs and roles - helps the functioning of society Weberians - distribution of wealth is based on a market situation - its down to how valuable your skills are to society (linking to supply and demand) Marxists - capitalism is the bale for wealth and income inequalities WHY DOES POVERTY EXIST? Lewis (1959, 1961,1966) - culture is the cause of poverty - people are socialised into the norm of poverty as it is passed down from generation to generation - SUBCULTURE OF POVERTY Brewer and Gregg (2002) - change in the economy have caused the growth in poverty New right theorists - poverty is due to the dependency on the welfare - Murray (1993) culture of dependency on the state and unwillingness to work Weberian - poverty is down to inequalities in the labour market - Townsend (1970, 1979) poverty is due to the low status of some workers which doesn't give them much position to improve Marxists - blame capitalism for poverty Pedagogy: -set up tables with the different ways of measuring poverty- ask pupils to go round in groups to add to the piece of paper anything they remember about that particular method -split the class into two groups (half rich and half poor) after discussing inequalities in wealth and poverty ask the two to discuss they are in the position they are (e.g. wealthy or not) -afterwards ask the pupils to pair up with someone from the opposite group - ask them to write a letter to each other describing what had been discussed and saying why they may think this is fair or unfair -class debate > arguments for the welfare state and arguments against -homework - with the development of the newest building in London 'The Shard' ask pupils to describe how it is an example of the continuing growth between the rich and poor in the UK (think about: the views, the height, the price, representations, guests, workers, wages, rooms, food etc.)