Cycle of Poverty - Causes of The Cycle - Culture of Poverty

Culture of Poverty

Another theory for the perpetual cycle of poverty is that poor people have their own culture with a different set of values and beliefs which keep them trapped within that cycle generation to generation. This theory has been explored by Ruby K. Payne in her book A Framework for Understanding Poverty. In this book she explains how there is a class system in the United States where there is a wealthy upper class, a middle class, and the working poor class. These classes each have their own set of rules and values which differ from each other. In order to understand the culture of poverty and how the poor class’s set of rules tend to keep them trapped in this continual cycle Payne describes these rules and how they affect the poor class. Time is something that is treated differently by the poor; they generally do not plan ahead but simply live in the moment which keeps them from saving money which will help their children escape poverty. Payne expresses how important it is when working with the poor to understand their unique cultural differences so that one does not get frustrated but instead tries to work with them on their ideologies and help them to understand how they can help themselves and their children escape the cycle. One aspect of generational poverty is a learned helplessness that is passed from parents to children and on down the line. This learned helplessness can be explained as the ideology that there is no way for one to get out of poverty and so in order to make the best of their situation one must live in the moment and experience what they can when they can. This leads to people spending money right as they get it, often on unnecessary goods such as alcohol and cigarettes, thus teaching their children to do the same which also creates a trap for children keeping them and their children in poverty. Another important point Payne makes is that leaving poverty is not as simple as acquiring a lot of money and moving up but also includes giving up relationships in exchange for achievement. This helps to explain why the culture of poverty tends to keep families in poverty from generation to generation as this is the culture they know and the relationships they have are all within that class.

The "culture of poverty" theory has been debated and critiqued by many people including Eleanor Burke Leacock (and others) in her book The Culture of Poverty: A Critique. Leacock claims that people who use the term, "culture of poverty" only "contribute to the distorted characterizations of the poor." Aligning with Leacock's beliefs on the subject, Michael Hannan in an essay argues that the "culture of poverty" is "essentially untestable." This is due to many things including the highly subjective nature of poverty and issues concerning the universal act of classifying only some impoverished people as trapped in the culture.