A Brief Sociological Analysis On

Reproduction In Poverty Stricken Families

Already incapable of being able to sustain themselves financially and physically, adding
offspring to the mix certainly raises concerns for poverty stricken individuals across the
Caribbean region. Having endured a different history than other regions across the globe, our
societal and economic developmental issues vary vastly. Dating back to notable events such as
slavery, indentured labour and independence, all of which play an essential role to where
differing Caribbean territories may stand on an economical point of view. High levels of
unemployment, crime and the struggle of having to compete on the world market are all evils
that the Caribbean region are faced with. The poorer population then, has higher at stake for
their wellbeing, much less their children as well.

Raising a family is already exhausting as is and not to mention costly. Having little or no means
to raise kids not only puts the poorer individuals at a disadvantage but also deprives their
children of having a decent life. Having less children would indeed prove to be better in the long
run as having to compete in the demand for essentials amongst a growing population holds its
drawbacks. The Malthusian theory of population growth reflects the ideology of Thomas Robert
Malthus who deduces that food supply was the main limitation of population growth. He argued
that the population would always grow faster than the food supply, seeing that population
increases exponentially whereas food supply increases arithmetically. Malthus asserted that if
left unchecked, human populations are destined to outgrow their food supplies and suffer from
starvation, malnutrition, poverty and “endless struggle for existence”. However, this cannot
necessarily be applied to the Caribbean perspective. This is so because it has been designed to
suit Eurocentric ideals centuries ago as well as the fact that large scale plantations were
established in the Caribbean during this time and there was an abundance of crops to go around.
Contemporary Caribbean has the necessary food supply accessible but not everyone is able to
afford this and live comfortably.

This leads us to Marx’s theory of population growth, in which he disagreed with Malthus’ views
and contended that the population size was not the problem but rather that industrialization
and capitalism contributed to the social and economic problems associated with population
growth. Marx reasoned that the poverty which concerned Malthus was due to unemployment
which became inevitable under the capitalist system. The ruling class is blamed for causing
poverty.
In reference to the Caribbean, individuals in higher positions are often corrupt and exploit the
working class and strip away any opportunities for them to flourish. With seemingly little
options available to them, these Caribbean people seek a better life elsewhere and migrate to
other countries, contributing to a brain drain or loss of human resource. This hurts both
economic and social development of a nation as a gap is left in which the government has to fill.

Given the points presented, poverty stricken individuals have not only their own plights to face
but also any drawbacks their nation undergoes will ultimately affect them more drastically than
other citizens. Therefore, having too many children may not be the wisest course of action for
them to take.

Malthus believed that to control this, checks should be put in place such as preventative checks
which limit reproduction and positive checks which may increase mortality and reduce life
expectancy however to fit with contemporary times, the Neo-Malthusian may provide better
ideas on how the population can be controlled which include the use of birth control and family
planning which can assist poorer individuals on refraining from having children until they feel
they are financially and emotionally able to do so.