I received news of an interesting report in the (e)mail today from The Rowantree Foundation.
Poverty, participation and choice
The report expands upon the work of Peter Townsend, the famous British sociologist who died in 2009, who demonstrated that poverty prevents people being full members of society.
This new publication explores the relevance of Townsend's ideas in the 21st century.
Among other things it found that...
- " Participation in society can be measured in terms of social relationships, membership of organisations, trust in other people, ownership of possessions and purchase of services. All are lower among people with low incomes."
And concluded...
-"
Understanding difference
As Townsend demonstrated 30 or more years ago, people in poverty are unable to engage fully in society; they experience material deprivation, socialise less and are less trusting than people with greater resources. However, while participation declines as income falls, there appears to be a point in the income distribution at which participation stops falling, creating a participation 'floor'. The participation floor affects the 30 per cent of people with the lowest incomes, but varies in its level: it is lower for people who are reliant on social security benefits than for others on the same income. For the people affected by the floor, higher income is not reflected in measureable improvements in living standards or increased social participation, but seems instead to be used to sustain material and social existence. People confront circumstances in which nothing appears to be gained from additional income; a 'nothing for something' rather than a 'something for nothing' society."
From #1, we may draw the conclusion that non-participation with, and society with, others in the community was insisted upon way back in those dark days.
http://www.jrf.org.uk/publications/poverty-participation-and-choice?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Weekly+publications+and+blogs+wb+27th+May+2013&utm_content=Weekly+publications+and+blogs+wb+27th+May+2013+CID_e6fc67229e7e4b434f832af9029232ff&utm_source=Email%20marketing%20software&utm_term=Poverty%20participation%20and%20choice