DANIEL ROBLES
WESTERN OREGON UNIVERSITY
SOC 223
INSTUCTOR CHRIS SOLARIO
NOVEMBER 8TH, 2014
Robles, Daniel
November 8th, 2014
Final Exam Paper
SOC 223
Poverty is a big issue here in the United States but there’s a big debate on whether who is the real responsibility and causes for poverty. We can say that poverty is caused because most people are unskilled and unmotivated to do anything about their social standing. Or we can say that there is simple not enough opportunities out there for one to get out of the hole of poverty. In my opinion, I believe that both are right but I would mostly agree on blaming the society for the cause of poverty. Why? Because the truth is no one wants to be stuck in poverty, everyone of us has a goal they want to pursue but everyone of us have a different route on getting there.
One view states that the poor are responsible for being poor and the reasons for that is because throughout this nation’s history, people have placed a high cultural value on self-reliance, convinced that social standing is mostly a matter of individual talent and effort. Because of this, society offers plenty of opportunities to anyone who is able and willing to take advantage of them, and the poor are those people who cannot or will not work due to a lack of skills, schooling, or motivation. Arguing that one major cause of poverty is not holding a job. There was a study by an anthropologist by the name of Oscar Lewis noted that many poor people become trapped by the culture of poverty. And what that means is that one who has been born into a poor family and living in poverty for years could be so used to living life a curtain way that they begin to lose hope. They tend to have the tendency to just give up and stop chasing after their dreams because they feel like they’re never going to get out of the poverty hole.
One the other view, society is the one to blame for poverty. Society tends to give the...