The problem of poverty in modern society is one of the most important social problems. This phenomenon is complex, provoked by various causes and prerequisites. Culture, economics, psychology, mentality of the nationality play their role. Often, poverty is directly related to the geographical location of the area, historical vicissitudes and other conditions for the formation, development of the area, the state. Poverty analysis is a task solved by economists, sociologists all over the world, but the final solution has not been found.
Theoretical base
Poverty is the condition of a group of people when material resources are not enough to maintain consumption at an acceptable level. Sociologists talk about poverty by analyzing the incomes of families and individuals. The average level of income 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 measured by calculating and comparing the most important indicators. These are the incomes of the population, its ability to make purchases, the cost of living. At the same time, the features of the development of a social group are taken into account through standard indicators. In total, the system makes it possible to assess how strong inequality is in society, 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 inherent in the state. The number of people living below the poverty line is an indicator that allows assessing the social and economic level of a country's development. It is believed that among other social indicators, this one is the most significant.
Practically every modern country has a social security 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 the social institution in many countries is far from sufficient.
Poverty rates
In sociology they talk about 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 applicable to the category of people who do not have the ability to meet five or more vital needs. If the level of poverty is so high that a group of people from the list of needs developed by the EU specialistscan afford the vast majority, this is called deep hopeless poverty.
Theory and reality: it matters
Of course, sociology has long de alt with the problem of lack of goods in society, but there are still poor people. Many begin to doubt whether there is any sense in sociologists in particular and science in general. Nevertheless, the theoretical approach is important for the practical solution of the problem.
Determining the poverty line as accurately as possible is a guarantee that it will be possible to find methods of effective social assistance. At the same time, you need to understand that with a large percentage of the poor in the country, the budget incurs huge spending on social institutions and assistance, and this reduces the well-being of more affluent citizens.
Delimiting concepts
There are relative and absolute poverty. The first assumes that the position of a citizen is assessed, focusing on the level of income in the state on average. Absolute poverty is a term applied to a situation where a certain percentage of the population does not have access to basic needs. These usually include housing, food, clothing.
Poverty is officially assessed by comparing a person's income with the subsistence minimum established in the state. At the same time, the problem of poverty is considered on the basis of the concept of "relative". This method measures not only money supply, but also he alth care, infant mortality, life expectancy, and learning opportunities.
Society, economy and social strata
The problem of poverty is considered from the point of view of sociology and economics. Economic - this is the one that involves an analysis of the percentage of workers relative to the unemployed, as well as an assessment of the ability to provide a decent standard of living for themselves and the families of those who work. The less socially protected groups of the population, the higher the likelihood of social poverty.
Social stratification is closely related to the problem of poverty and the presence of social inequality. Inequality implies that scarce resources are distributed unevenly among people. Assess the distribution of prestige, finance, power, access to education. But you need to understand that poverty is characteristic of only 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 can deal with them. At the same time, it is necessary to provide large incomes to the general population while raising the standard of living. In order to inject large financial resources into the social sphere, it is necessary to regularly allocate money from the budget of the country, regions, municipalities. Additionally, finance can be obtained from extra-budgetary funds and special social funds. At the same time, one must understand that the causes of poverty are not only in the lack of budget money, but also in the social system of the country as a whole.
In implementing social policy, it is necessary to pay attention to different sources of funding, as well as reforms. The budget for them is formed both by the state and by entrepreneurs, ordinaryresidents of the country.
Poverty in Russia: it's 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. Yet the situation is improving very slowly. Poverty in Russia is a classic theme of the scientific work of sociologists and economists.
When analyzing the level of prosperity in the country, it is necessary to pay attention to the concept of “subjective poverty”. It involves assessing a person's access to basic needs. From this, one can define poverty as a concept not only social or economic, but also mental.
Poverty: Theory Complete and Reduced
Poverty can be described in the broad sense of the word or in the narrow sense. The first option assumes the state of the country, associated with monetary vicissitudes, the social sphere and politics. The lower the GDP, the poorer the country is considered. But in a 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 meaning the term is talking about. This determines the choice of tools, methods for solving the problem.
Statistics: Russia
Based on the data of statistical agencies, in the period 2000-2012 in the Russian Federation the number of poor people decreased by 18.3%, and the minimum estimate was 15 million citizens, that is, about 11% of the population. But then the number of people living below the poverty line began to grow, having already reached a value of 14.5%population, that is, about 21 million.
Poverty: causes and classification
There are situations when the fact of being 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 wages);
- geographic (uncomfortable areas, undeveloped areas);
- demographic (high percentage of incomplete families);
- personal (alcoholism, drug addiction, gambling);
- qualifying (lack of education).
Poverty in Russia: numbers
GDP growth is directly related to the level of poverty of the population. But it depends not only on him. For example, in 2013 in our country, GDP grew: the increase was 1.3%, and next year it added another 0.6%. The decline in 2015 was 3.8%, and the next year the decline was another 0.3%, which in total for all these years gave almost zero.
It would seem that the number of the 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 volume of imported goods increased. Inflation and economic sanctions in 2014 had an impact. 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 problem that is relevant to all countries of the world, albeit to varying degrees. Traditionally, the republics of Africa divide the palm among themselves, and Asian countries, and even some European ones, do not lag 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 rosy.
RF 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 is low relative to other superpowers.
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 spheres, but it has not been possible to find an effective universal method for eliminating poverty and social inequality.
Two methods of fighting poverty were invented, which are now widely used 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 Russia, the situation is complicated by the fact that social poverty is accompanied by financial. This means that many citizens of the country have stable jobs, but wages are so low that they are unable to provide themselves with 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 activate the 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 rise if the value 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 to help determine what to do next.
Am I poor?
Assess the quality, the standard of living is quite difficult. Focusing on the average per capita income is not the most correct option. You also need to understand that many, talking about their income, underestimate or exaggerate them. In addition, the family has access to resources outside of daily income. Also, families with the same level of income maintain a life of a different way, style, which affects the subjective understanding of poverty. Finally, money in different parts of the country is filled with goods in different ways.
Some information about the standard of living can be obtained by studying human housing, objects used in everyday life, equipment, clothes. These objects reflect the level, style, lifestyle, property, character of a person. At the same time, different economists have different perceptions of the resource provision criterion based on the potential of the we alth accumulated by the family.
Poverty and poverty: is there a difference?
The non-poor, the poor, the poor - the border between themdoing is not always easy. One of the valuation methods is the accumulated property. A number of scholars propose to classify persons below the poverty line who have debts and do not have the necessary property (appliances, furniture, clothes) to the category of "beggars". 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 single out a refrigerator, TV, vacuum cleaner, upholstered furniture and furniture for storing things (slides, walls). If there are no two items from the specified list, we can safely say that a person lives beyond poverty, that is, in poverty. At the same time, the quality of items in such an assessment is often not taken into account, since the fact of presence / absence is quite indicative. However, economists differ on this issue.
Summing up
It must be admitted that the analysis of the phenomenon of poverty in Russia (and in the world) must be carried out by evaluating a complex of interrelated factors. The resource factor cannot be ignored, that is, it is important to analyze what kind of 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 which there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Politicians, economists, sociologists must work together, analyzing the current state and dynamics of the situation in society, on the basis of which to develop exactly such ways that will be effective in the realities of this state.
