Poverty: Helplessness vs Self-defeating

From my point of view, poverty can be derived from one of two things. Either helplessness or self defeating, which exists globally and not just in a certain country or culture.

Helplessness occurs from being born into poverty, physically handicapped to an extent in which one would be unable to self-sustain, in total socialist political environments or any similar drastic scenarios (note that being born into poverty can be changed after a certain age with self motivation and willpower).

On the other end, self-defeating poverty occurs when a person pretty much chooses his/her own destiny to be poor after having a decent and a self sustaining background.

I am born and raised in India and there is an abundance of poverty there that I have seen. Although I have never experienced poverty myself, I have definitely seen both kinds of poverty there as well as in the United States. Comparably the poverty in India was more drastic and more in numbers due to the population vs resources factor. I am sure there are other countries in comparison to India which could have more drastic poverty lines since I have not seen the world. Also reading or watching a documentary about poverty of another country does not tell both sides of the story and is going to biased in some way.


As this blog evolves, I will definitely elaborate on the above points and why I think from this perspective.


Session 3


This session briefly summarizes on the whole helplessness vs self-defeating factor of poverty. It talks about the different theories of intergenerational poverties and its aspects.

Economic resources and Non economic resources theories are where the helpless factor of poverty kick in for the dependent or the children. Parents who cannot afford to pay for their children's education, cannot also help towards certain ammenities will hinder the children's chances of getting an education and finding their own success.

As far as the self-defeating purpose, the chapter did mention that majority of the Americans who have been in poverty have gotten out from it within a year. This is where the welfare trap comes in. People dependent on welfare become so used to "getting by" without working, they just want to stay there and be comfortable. This affects their attitude towards education and work later down the road and the children follow in their parent's footsteps.

Also when it talks about structural and evironment theory, the chapter bring in segregation and race factors. I personally do not believe that this would have a big impact on a person's poverty and its more used as an excuse these days. My parents and I are immigrants from another country which is less developed, but yet the "racial discrimination and segregation" factor has not affected our lives in any way. This has all to do with the parents and the individuals view and motivation in life.

Session 4

I actually learned a lot in depth about being born into poverty, the helplessness factor and how the effects of  environment and surroundings factor into it.

I mean, if I picture myself living into a concentrated poverty area where 40% of the people around me are poor, I would definitely lose some hope and motivation to succeed. The one major factor for the children I can imagine would be peer pressure. Also living in an area with no decent educational system and not enough role models due to having a single parent or no one else to guide you is definitely a tough thing. This will again hinder from a child achieving future success.