The problem of poverty in modern society is one of the most important of the social ones. This phenomenon is complex, provoked by various reasons and prerequisites. Culture, economics, psychology, and the mentality of nationality play their role. Often, poverty is directly related to the geographical location of the area, historical upheavals and other conditions of formation, development of habitat, state. The analysis of poverty is a task solved by economists, sociologists of the whole world, but the final solution has not been found.
Theoretical base
Poverty is such a state of a group of people when the material reserves are insufficient to maintain consumption at an acceptable level. Sociologists talk about poverty by analyzing the incomes of families and individuals. An average income level is necessary to provide a person with everything necessary, taking into account the realities of our world; technical, technological, cultural level of development.
Poverty in the world is assessed by calculating and comparing critical indicators. This is the income of the population, its ability to make purchases, a living wage. At the same time, the features of the development of a social group through standard indicators are taken into account. In total, the system allows us to assess how strong inequality is in society and how significant poverty is.
Who are you talking about?
Based on the terminology introduced in the EU, poor people are those who have insignificant social assets, culture, material resources. Since these values are small, people are excluded from the minimum normal way of life characteristic of the state. The number of people living below the poverty line is an indicator that allows you to assess the social, economic level of development of the country. Among other social indicators, this is considered to be the most significant.
In almost every modern country there is a social protection system. One of the most significant areas of work of such an institution is the fight against poverty. However, practice shows that the effectiveness of a social institution in many countries is far from sufficient.
Poverty levels
In sociology, they speak of several steps. The simplest option is low income. This means that of the basic needs, a certain percentage of the population cannot satisfy one or two. When it comes to three or four unmet needs, it is classified as poverty.
Deprivation is a concept that applies to the category of people who are unable to meet five or more vital needs. If the poverty level is so great that from the list of needs developed by EU experts, a group of people cannot afford the vast majority, this is called deep hopeless poverty.
Theory and reality: it is important
Of course, sociology has long dealt with the problem of a lack of wealth in society, but there are still poor people. Many begin to doubt whether there is at least some sense in sociologists in particular and science in general. Nevertheless, a theoretical approach is important for the practical solution of the problem.
Determining the poverty line very precisely is the guarantee that it will be possible to find methods of effective social assistance. At the same time, one must understand that with a large percentage of the poor in the country, the budget incurs enormous expenses on social institutions and assistance, and this reduces the welfare of better-off citizens.
Differentiate the concepts
Relative poverty and absolute are distinguished. The first assumes that the position of a citizen is assessed, focusing on the state average income level. Absolute poverty is a term applied to the situation when a certain percentage of the population does not have access to basic needs. They usually include housing, food, clothes.
Poverty is officially assessed by comparing a person’s income with the cost of living established in the state. Moreover, the problem of poverty is considered on the basis of the concept of “relative”. This method allows you to evaluate not only cash reserves, but also the level of health care, the infant mortality rate, life expectancy, and educational opportunity.
Society, economy and social strata
The problem of poverty is considered from the point of view of sociology and economics. Economic - this is one that involves an analysis of the percentage of workers relatively unemployed, as well as an assessment of the ability to provide a decent standard of living for themselves and the family of those who work. The less socially protected groups of the population, the higher the likelihood of social poverty.
Social stratification is closely linked to poverty and social inequality. Inequality suggests that the resources present in shortages are distributed unevenly among people. Assess the distribution of prestige, finance, power, access to education. But you need to understand that poverty is characteristic only of a certain part of the population, while inequality applies to all citizens of the country.
Poverty, away!
Considering the causes of poverty, we can assume that social policy allows us to cope with them. At the same time, it is necessary to provide large incomes to wide sections of the population while raising living standards. In order to infuse large financial resources into the social sphere, it is necessary to regularly allocate money from the budget of the country, regions, and municipalities. Additionally, finances can be obtained from extrabudgetary funds and special social funds. At the same time, it must be understood that the causes of poverty are not only a lack of budget money, but also in the social system of the country as a whole.
When implementing social policy, it is necessary to pay attention to various sources of financing, as well as reforms. The budget for them is formed both by the state and by entrepreneurs, ordinary residents of the country.
Poverty in Russia: it is relevant
In Russia, poverty is one of the most important social problems. Of course, much attention is paid to it, it is covered in the media, it is considered by politicians and scientists. Nevertheless, the situation is improving very slowly. Poverty in Russia is a classic topic of the scientific work of sociologists and economists.
Analyzing the level of security in the country, it is necessary to pay attention to the concept of “subjective poverty”. It involves a person’s assessment of his access to basic needs. From this we can define poverty as a concept not only social or economic, but also mental.
Poverty: Full and Shortened Theory
You can characterize poverty in the broad sense of the word or narrow. The first option assumes the state of the country associated with the ups and downs of money, the social sphere and politics. The lower the GDP, the poorer the country is considered. But in the narrow sense, poverty is such a state of a citizen when he does not have the opportunity to satisfy basic needs.
To cope with poverty, you first need to decide what the meaning of the term is in question. This determines the choice of tools, methods of solving the problem.
Statistics: Russia
Based on the information of statistical agencies, in 2000-2012 the number of poor people in the Russian Federation decreased by 18.3%, and the minimum estimate was 15 million people, that is, about 11% of the population. But then the number of people living below the poverty line began to grow, reaching already a value of 14.5% of the population, that is, about 21 million.
Poverty: causes and their classification
There are situations when the fact of finding him below the poverty line does not depend on a citizen, but there are also situations when people themselves bring themselves to such a position. Economists identify several main causes of poverty in the country, grouping them as follows:
- political (martial law);
- medical, social (disability, old age);
- cash (devaluation, crisis, low salary);
- geographical (uncomfortable areas, undeveloped areas);
- demographic (high percentage of single-parent families);
- personal (alcoholism, drug addiction, gambling);
- qualification (lack of education).
Poverty in Russia: numbers
GDP growth is directly related to the poverty level of the population. But it depends not only on him. For example, in 2013, in our country, GDP grew: an increase of 1.3%, and next year it added another 0.6%. The decrease in 2015 amounted to 3.8%, and the next year the decline fell by another 0.3%, which totaled almost zero for all these years.
It would seem that the number of poor should not increase, since the situation has returned to normal. But in addition to the change in GDP, the currency depreciated twice, while the volumes of imported goods increased. Influence was provided by inflation, economic sanctions of 2014. In total, all factors provoked an increase in the percentage of the population below the poverty line.
Poverty in the world: a massive problem
Poverty is a disaster relevant to all countries of the world, albeit to varying degrees. Traditionally, the African republics are sharing the palm, Asian countries, and even some European countries, are not far behind them. But Switzerland, Luxembourg, the Scandinavian countries and Australia maintain a high standard of living from year to year. The situation in Russia, to put it mildly, is not encouraging.
The Russian Federation positions itself as a great power, but this does not negate internal problems. The territory of the country is huge, the industry is large and diverse, but the GDP relative to other superpowers is low.
And how to fight?
Is it possible to solve the problem of poverty? Attempts to eradicate poverty have been made for a long time, they can be called an integral element of the country's politics, social and financial sectors, but they failed to find an effective universal method for eliminating poverty and social inequality.
Two methods of combating poverty were invented, which are now widespread in developed countries. First of all, the state guarantees each citizen a sufficiently high minimum level of profit. Another way is timely effective assistance to everyone who is faced with a difficult life situation.
Russia against poverty
In the Russian Federation, the situation is complicated by the fact that social poverty is accompanied by financial poverty. This means that many citizens of the country have stable jobs, but the level of wages is so low that they are not able to secure a minimum income. According to rough estimates, more than 30 million citizens receive less than 10,000 rubles a month.
To cope with poverty in Russia, it is necessary to revitalize industry and ensure the stability of the economy in the country and in the world, to ensure a widespread increase in wages. The level will increase if the significance of life becomes higher, and this can be achieved by developing and implementing appropriate social programs. At the same time, it cannot be guaranteed that the implementation of the above will give the desired result. This is the first step that will help determine what to do next.
Am I poor?
Assess the quality, standard of living is quite difficult. Focusing on per capita income is not the most correct option. You also need to understand that many, when talking about their incomes, play down or exaggerate. In addition, the family has access to resources outside of daily income. Also, families with the same level of income support life of a different image, style, which affects the subjective understanding of poverty. Finally, money is filled differently in different parts of the country.
Some information about the standard of living can be obtained by studying human habitation, objects used in everyday life, equipment, and clothing. These objects reflect the level, style, lifestyle, property, character of a person. At the same time, different economists have different perceptions of the criterion for providing resources, based on the potential of the property accumulated by the family.
Poverty and poverty: is there a difference?
Non-poor, poor, poor - the border between them is not always easy to draw. One of the valuation methods is accumulated property. A number of scientists suggest categorizing as “beggars” those who are below the poverty line, who have debts and do not have the necessary property (appliances, furniture, clothes). The incomes of the poor are lower than those of the poor.
Analyzing what household items are necessary to maintain a normal standard of living, they usually allocate a refrigerator, a TV, a vacuum cleaner, upholstered furniture and furniture for storing things (slides, walls). If there are no two items from this list, we can safely say that a person lives beyond poverty, that is, in poverty. At the same time, the quality of objects in such an assessment is often not taken into account, since the fact of presence / absence is quite indicative. However, economists disagree on this issue.
To summarize
It must be recognized that the analysis of the phenomenon of poverty in Russia (and in the world) must be carried out, evaluating a set of related factors. It is impossible to deprive the attention of the resource factor, that is, it is important to analyze the access to which property the family has access to. At the same time, the fact of obsolescence of household items is assessed.
The fight against poverty is a task for the solution of which there is no universal way. Politicians, economists, sociologists should work together, analyzing the current state and dynamics of the situation in society, on the basis of which to develop precisely those ways that will be effective in the realities of this state.