SIW 4 

Social structure and stratification of society

What is poverty? What is the difference between absolute and relative poverty?
(Write an analytical essay on the topic 2-3 pages)
The most widely held and understood definition of absolute poverty measures
poverty strictly in economic terms. By this measurement, anyone lacking enough
financial resources falls below the poverty line and fails to meet a minimum
standard of living. But to be poverty-stricken is more complex than not having
enough money or having a low income.
In the expanded definition, to be poverty-stricken is to be afflicted and
overwhelmed by need in any or all areas of life. Impoverishment includes poor
living conditions, lack of representation, anxiety due to feelings of powerlessness,
exclusion from the social structure and inability to meet basic needs due to the
unavailability of food, clean drinking water, adequate sanitation, education, health
care and other social services. This threshold of poverty begins with fear for the
future and expands, including dependence, oppression.
The most obvious injustice is child poverty. More than 90 million children under
the age of five still suffer from malnutrition and body weight deficiency. However,
the biggest contribution to the fight against child poverty is not made by economic
growth or the efforts of governments and organizations, but by reducing the size of
the family: for almost half a century, the proportion of families with less than three
children has increased from 61 to 80%.
As for the inequality in education, the share of the adult population who received
secondary education has increased from 56% to 88% in the world over 50 years,
and economic growth and income growth in general are directly related to the
availability of education.
Absolute poverty is the absence of a minimum subsistence level necessary for
basic well-being. When poverty is measured in relative units, such as income or
consumption relative to other people, this concept is called relative poverty.
Relative poverty refers to a state in which a person lacks his income necessary to
maintain a normal standard of living in the society to which he belongs. But at the
same time, he receives about 50% less than the average income in the region of
residence, so he has a little money, but still not enough to afford something higher
than basic needs. In other words, these are those who are unable to maintain the
generally accepted standard of living in society. These people are considered poor
in this society, because they are relatively poor than other members of this society.
The main difference between absolute poverty and relative poverty is that absolute
poverty describes people whose income is below a certain level, which makes it
impossible for them to meet basic living needs, including food, housing, safe
drinking water, education and health, while relative poverty measures the
difference in resources and income inequality compared to other people.
Absolute poverty Relative poverty
is the level of poverty defined in indicates the economic status of a
relation to the minimum level of person in comparison with other people
income necessary to meet basic needs in this society.

remains constant over time can change over time with rising
incomes and living standards
is a common problem in developing is mainly used for statistics in
countries developed countries

describes people who are deprived of measures the difference in resources

the opportunity to meet the minimum and income inequality compared to
living needs others

Today, a simple comparison of income differentiation increasingly reflects the

essence of modern economic inequality. Like poverty, inequality is a phenomenon
that has many dimensions: geographical, political, ethnic and even individual, so in
order to understand the relationship between social stability and inequality today, it
is important to understand what it consists of today and study how it is evaluated
by different people, including the poor. Without this, measures aimed at
mechanically reducing the income inequality index may not lead to the expected
reduction in social polarization.