Poverty among the Disabled
Abstract
Social inequality occurs when resources in a society are unequally distributed within different social statuses. They include but not limited to wealth, power and class. The views of Carl Marx and Max Weber on class as an essential part of sociology opens an avenue for endless debate. This essays, therefore, tries to explain the views of Carl Marx and Max Weber by studying the concepts of each theory about the notion of class in the society and how their observations relate to real life experiences. Society is viewed as divided into four class systems; the upper class, the middle class, the working class, and the lower class. The upper class consists mainly of those who got wealth from property inheritance, conversion of an economic asset into cultural and social assets and through inter-family relations. The middle class, which consist of the majority of society today are those who have an interest in immediate reward rather than long term planning. The middle class emphasizes on individual achievement rather than collective achievement. Carl Marx in analyzing class difference and relation of someone to the means of production opined that in capitalist system ownership of wealth and means of production were above wage earners and that there were two classes, the owners of means of production and the worker. Weber’s analysis covered a more extensive scope and included areas that were never explained by Carl Marx. These areas included the origin and development of capitalism, ideas, values, and religion. He also talked about status, power, and class aspects. That the skilled workers, the middle class increased in a capitalist society as workers preferred to be employed rather than stay depressed. The discussion on social inequality must therefore continue.
Poverty among the disabled
Poverty is one of the contributors to class inequality in the world today. There are two categories of poverty; Absolute poverty where there is non-fulfillment of basic needs and relative poverty where the income of the family is so low that it barely supports family needs. People with disability in Hong Kong, for example, find it hard to navigate around life due to their inability to work. Employers are reluctant to hire disabled individuals, and for those who have a workplace, the wages are not decent enough to move them to a different social class. This is a huge hindrance to their hopes of someday living a socially acceptable lifestyle. Poverty lowers their self-esteem and confidence and discourages them from attending and participating in normal societal activities, social gatherings, and social places. The society does not do much either in supporting them, neither does the government, and the social security fund allocated to them is little, and most are not aware of its existence.
Politically, the ruling class is considered the highest rank in society. Their interaction is restricted, and socialization is controlled. As such the ruling class never interact with the poor. Leaders lack touch with their electorates. Lack of inclusion in critical decision making processes makes them feel unwanted and as such may stay away from important events like elections. Their election into influential positions in the government is not a guarantee as some people consider them ineffective and unable to deliver in such high posts. Recently Hong Kong government has been on the spotlight for a high number of people living below the poverty line (approximately 1.3 million) compounded with the slow pace of a comprehensive social policy to improve the lives of the poor (Leung,2017)
Davis and Moore 1945 saw education as a means of role allocation and linked it directly to social stratification. They saw education as a basic need for a system to survive and operate if roles were filled by those suitable. In Hong Kong, there are different schools for the disabled. Instead of children getting admission according to their ability; preferential treatment is accorded to high-class children; the disabled are taught a different curriculum and exam. The schools are of different social classes. The high-end schools have specialized education, high motivation, personalized services, better infrastructure and a lower population which is easier to handle.
Conversely, public schools are overcrowded with fewer teachers, inadequate support and lack of necessary facilities like a library. The marginalization and inequality are so high that people have limited or no access to essential services like education, except a few outliers, poor results are expected due to their inability to concentrate on their studies. (Ho &Chan,2010, p 33-45) This is an inequality to the poor as portrayed by Carl Marx. Employers are reluctant to hire disabled graduates citing limitations in work environments and unsuitable job nature; Some employers refuse to engage the poor and disabled with no reason.
Hong Kong was ranked the first in wealth disparity in a survey in 2009, where 10% of the population consisting the low class shared only 20% of country’s wealth, while the affluent consisting 10% population controlled 34% wealth. (Chuen,2010) The ever-rising cost of living and expenses in Hong Kong especially rent has left many disabled people homeless. The Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA), a welfare association by the government to satisfy the needs of the poor has not been adequate. Class inequality among the disabled in Hong Kong has risen to a level that low-income families cannot afford the basic needs.
A family is a basic unit to which someone belongs. They are a group of related individuals; it provides a sense of belonging and security. In upper class and middle-class families, ties are mostly stronger. Family members occasionally gather to celebrate special events. They are closer to each other and share most times. They handle most of their activities together., a privilege that the poor and disabled Hong Kong families do not enjoy. With very high rental demands, these families have no home, are disrupted with each family member trying to navigate life by themselves. There are rare or no family gatherings, and morale is low. The relationship between these families are non-existent, and family expectations are not met. Research finds that children raised in families with lower incomes are disadvantaged, they have lower birth weight, malnutrition and are at a high risk of infant mortality as a result of their parent’s inability to afford better healthcare.
Hong Kong’s low-income families are vulnerable and prone to delinquent and deviance behaviors such as school failure, school dropout, sex-related activities, and drug and substance abuse which is associated with the poor relationship between the parent and the children. Additionally, these families related to other low-income families giving a mutual feeling of hopelessness and economic disadvantage increases their chances of involvement in such practices. Poverty has a direct effect on neighborhood problems, bad behavior, and peer pressure, a strong argument on their vulnerability to deviance behaviors. (Shek & Lin,2014)
Conclusion
Carl Marx and mark weber try to explain social inequalities and how they affect our everyday life. They explain why society is divided into different categories (Upper class, middle class, and the lower class) according to resources that one owns. Poverty among the disabled people in Hong Kong is real. It affects them socially, economically and politically. Families are torn apart, devious behaviors set in, and self-esteem is lowered limiting their chances of climbing the social ladder. Their expression and association with a healthy society are prone to change hence the need to put in place policy interventions such as job creation to eradicate poverty.
Works cited
Ho, A. P. Y., & Chan, K. T. (2010). The social impact of work-integration social enterprise in Hong Kong. International social work, 53(1), 33-45.
Goodstadt, L. F. (2014). Poverty in the midst of affluence: How Hong Kong mismanaged its prosperity. Hong Kong University Press.
Saunders, P., Wong, H., & Wong, W. P. (2014). Deprivation and Poverty in Hong Kong. Social Policy & Administration, 48(5), 556-575.
Ngan, R. (2011). Reducing poverty and creating employment through social enterprises: how viable in Hong Kong?. Social Development Issues, 33(1), 60-71.