The Uses of Poverty: The Poor Pay All

Thesis: Poverty and those associated with it- the poor, serve positive and often necessary functions in society. These positive functions explain the persistence of poverty and why it is an obligatory part of the social order. Also expressed are alternate functions that could replace those served by the poor, but at a higher price to those more prosperous.

Summary: The author explains the continuous existence of poverty as an indication that it fulfills unrecognized, constructive functions. Among the economical functions is the fact that the poor are willing to work the dirty, underpaid, and often dangerous jobs that the higher classes are not. If poverty were to cease to exist, society would have to pay higher wages to those less eager to do these undignified jobs. Poverty also creates jobs for those who make careers out of servicing the underprivileged. It is noted that without poverty penology, the police, and other crime prevention organizations would be minute. Socially, the poor provide a cultural purpose “when culture created by or for them is adopted by the more affluent. The rich often collect artifacts from extinct folk cultures of poor people; and almost all Americans listen to the blues, Negro spirituals, and country music, which originated among the Southern poor”(p.22, Pp3). Another social function of poverty is that puts the minds of higher classes at ease, knowing that their status is certain as people feel the need to know where they stand, and the poor serve as a basis of comparison. Among political functions, the poor advocate conventional norm. “Not only does the alleged moral deviancy of the poor reduce the moral pressure on the present political economy to eliminate poverty but socialist alternatives can be made to look quite unattractive if those who will benefit most from them can be described as lazy, spendthrift, dishonest and promiscuous”(p.23, Pp4). The author also suggests functional substitutes to poverty, such as paying higher wages to employees doing the “dirty work”, and the professionals who prosper because of the poor could be found alternate means of work. A stated, many functions served by the poor could be eliminated and replaced, but usually at a higher cost to those who flourish because of the existence poverty.

Response/Synthesis: Americans today tend to believe that poverty is an overall horrific thing. What functional socialists do is make you question such judgments, as Grans has done in this article. I believe that our society would function much differently, perhaps worse or perhaps better, if poverty were to cease to exist. I don’t really believe that we can say without experience, what the outcome of such a situation would be. There may be latent functions, or unanticipated positive effects on social order and stability if poverty were eliminated. Deficiency in the lowest class certainly has no constructive result on the poor themselves, so is it ethically correct to condone and want for them to continue these poor quality lives for our own good? I believe it’s survival of the richest in America, and maybe even the world. Maybe society adapts to whatever is thrown at it. If there had never been such a thing as poverty, we would function just perfectly. But since it does exist, a complete turnaround would be a difficult thing to adjust to. Other roles need to be found for badly trained and incompetent professionals serving the poor, because they shouldn’t be serving anyone if they’re lacking the ability to do the jobs they claim they’re able to. Alternatively, on a psychological medium, maybe the idea of poverty is what keeps the entire country from turning into materialistic, selfish people. Of course, those people do already exist, but if poverty were eliminated, would we all be that way? Perhaps the poor keep us realistic and grounded, and aware of our society. If I never saw what could happen to me if I didn’t have the money and things that I do, I might not be as thankful, or I might spend more frivolously and not have a care in the world of what were to happen to me, as may the rest of society.