Work, Poverty and Welfare: Explanations and Measurement of Poverty
Sociologists distinguish absolute poverty, lacking the minimum resources needed for physical survival (adequate food, shelter, clothing), from relative poverty, lacking the resources needed to participate in the customs, activities and living standards considered normal in one's own society, even if basic survival needs are met. Townsend's influential relative deprivation approach defines poverty in terms of exclusion from these ordinary social customs and activities, measured through a detailed index of specific deprivations (such as being unable to afford a week's holiday away from home or to have friends round for a meal), and this relative approach means the poverty line rises as a society's overall standard of living rises. Mack and Lansley's 'Breadline Britain' studies developed a consensual approach to measuring poverty, asking the public itself which items and activities are considered necessities, so that poverty is defined by lacking items a majority of the population agrees are essential, rather than by a researcher's own judgement. Explanations of poverty's persistence differ sharply: the New Right, associated with Murray, argue a 'culture of poverty' or underclass has developed a set of values, including welfare dependency, that perpetuates poverty across generations, a view echoing Oscar Lewis's earlier 'culture of poverty' thesis; Marxists reject this cultural explanation, arguing poverty is functional for capitalism, since a pool of low-paid or unemployed workers (Marx's 'reserve army of labour') keeps overall wages down and disciplines the existing workforce by making jobs feel replaceable.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- Define absolute and relative poverty precisely and contrast them directly: absolute poverty is about survival needs, relative poverty is about participation in society's normal customs and activities, and a country can see relative poverty rise even while absolute poverty falls, if inequality widens.
- Explain Townsend's relative deprivation approach as a specific measurement method, not just a definition: a detailed index of concrete deprivations (inability to afford specific ordinary activities and items) is used to identify who falls below a socially meaningful poverty line, and this line rises with the society's general standard of living.
- Explain Mack and Lansley's consensual approach as a distinct method from Townsend's: rather than a researcher deciding what counts as a necessity, the public itself is surveyed to establish which items and activities a majority agree are essential, giving the measure democratic legitimacy.
- Present the New Right/culture of poverty explanation and the Marxist explanation as a direct clash, since exam answers should compare rather than list them separately: the New Right locates the cause of persistent poverty in the values and behaviour of the poor themselves (welfare dependency, Murray's underclass), while Marxists locate it in the structural needs of capitalism itself (a reserve army of labour keeping wages low).
- Use Oscar Lewis's original 'culture of poverty' thesis to show where the New Right's cultural argument comes from historically, poverty produces a set of adaptive values and behaviours (fatalism, present-time orientation) that can then be passed on to children, perpetuating poverty independently of a person's current circumstances.
- Give the standard structural counter-argument to cultural explanations: critics argue what looks like a 'culture of poverty' is more plausibly a rational, temporary adaptation to structural conditions (low pay, insecure work, inadequate welfare) rather than a fixed, self-perpetuating set of values, and that most people in poverty do share mainstream aspirations for work and success.
- If the item gives specific data or a case study of poverty, identify whether it best fits an absolute or relative definition, and whether the item's framing (individual behaviour vs structural condition) points towards a New Right or Marxist explanation, before generalising.
- For a 20-mark essay, plan a definitions/measurement paragraph, a New Right versus Marxist explanation paragraph, an evaluation paragraph using the structural counter-argument, and a conclusion answering the specific question set.
Worked example
Item A: A consensual survey asked a representative sample of the public which items and activities they considered necessities for an acceptable standard of living in their country today. Items such as being able to afford a basic annual holiday and having friends round for a meal were rated as necessities by a majority of respondents. Applying material from Item A and your knowledge, analyse two features of Mack and Lansley's consensual approach to measuring poverty illustrated in the item. (10 marks)
- Identify the item's key method: a representative public survey used to decide which items count as necessities, rather than a researcher's own judgement.
- Feature 1: the item's survey approach matches Mack and Lansley's consensual method directly, poverty is defined by lacking items a majority of the public agree are necessities, which the item's example (a basic annual holiday, having friends round for a meal) directly illustrates as concrete, socially agreed necessities.
- Develop feature 1: explain why this matters methodologically, it grounds the poverty line in democratic public opinion rather than an individual researcher deciding what counts as necessary, addressing a criticism that poverty measures can be arbitrary or elitist.
- Feature 2: note the relative and time-specific nature of the measure, the item specifies 'today', and Mack and Lansley's approach, like Townsend's, means what counts as a necessity, and therefore who counts as poor, can shift as social standards and expectations change over time.
- Add a brief evaluative point: because this is a relative, not absolute, measure, someone lacking these items would not necessarily lack the resources for physical survival, showing the consensual approach measures social participation rather than bare subsistence.
- Check both features are drawn explicitly from the item's survey method and example items, not stated as a generic account of poverty measurement.
Practice questions
Try each question, then tap to reveal the answer.
Q1What is the difference between absolute and relative poverty?Show answer
Answer: Absolute poverty is lacking the minimum resources needed for physical survival (food, shelter, clothing); relative poverty is lacking the resources needed to participate in the customs and activities considered normal in one's own society, even if survival needs are met.
Q2What is Townsend's relative deprivation approach to measuring poverty?Show answer
Answer: A method that defines poverty as exclusion from ordinary social customs and activities, measured using a detailed index of specific deprivations, such as being unable to afford a holiday or have friends round for a meal.
Q3How does Mack and Lansley's consensual approach differ from Townsend's method?Show answer
Answer: Instead of a researcher deciding which deprivations count, the public itself is surveyed to establish which items and activities a majority agree are necessities, giving the measure democratic, public legitimacy.
Q4What does Murray's underclass thesis argue causes persistent poverty?Show answer
Answer: That a culture of welfare dependency and values that discourage work has developed among a section of the poor, perpetuating poverty across generations, rather than poverty being caused mainly by structural economic factors.
Q5What is Marx's concept of the 'reserve army of labour' and how does it relate to poverty?Show answer
Answer: A pool of unemployed or low-paid workers that capitalism benefits from, since it keeps overall wages down and disciplines the existing workforce by making jobs feel replaceable, meaning poverty is functional for the capitalist system rather than accidental.
Q6State one criticism of the 'culture of poverty' explanation for persistent poverty.Show answer
Answer: Critics argue what looks like a self-perpetuating culture is more plausibly a rational, temporary adaptation to structural conditions such as low pay and insecure work, and that most people in poverty share mainstream aspirations for work and success.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a A Level Sociology exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Outline and explain two differences between absolute and relative definitions of poverty.
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Item B: A study found that families in long-term poverty were more likely to describe feeling it was 'pointless to plan for the future' and reported lower expectations of their children succeeding in education than more affluent families, even though the children themselves expressed similar ambitions for the future as their better-off peers. Applying material from Item B and your knowledge, analyse two ways the item can be explained using New Right and Marxist perspectives on poverty. (10 marks)
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Item C: Government data shows a persistent gap in educational and employment outcomes between children raised in long-term poverty and their peers. Some commentators argue this reflects a culture of low expectations passed down within some low-income families, while others argue it reflects the ongoing economic function of a low-wage, insecure workforce within the wider economy. Applying material from Item C and your knowledge, evaluate sociological explanations of the causes of poverty. (20 marks)
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