Poverty Is Not an Individual Disgrace

Poverty is often seen as the result of individual failings—laziness, low education, or a poor work ethic. However, poverty does not always stem from personal attitudes but also from the snares of an unequal system. When we blame poor families for ‘not trying hard enough’, we perhaps forget that they are squeezed within socio-economic structures that hinder their mobility.

Poverty can simply be understood as a condition where a person or group cannot meet the minimum standard of decent living needs, both materially and socially. This includes the inability to obtain sufficient food, clothing, shelter, and access to basic services such as education, health, and sanitation.

One of the discussions surrounding the issue of poverty is the question of why someone becomes poor. To answer this, we must understand the concept of poverty in social science. Poverty is divided into at least two types: cultural poverty and structural poverty.

Cultural poverty is a condition of poverty originating from cultural factors and the mentality of individuals or groups, where adopted values, habits, and beliefs foster an attitude of resignation, fatalism, or a low work ethic, thus hindering efforts to escape poverty. Examples include procrastination, doing work carelessly, or the habit of surrendering to fate, believing that poverty is God’s will.

The other type is structural poverty, which is produced by inequalities in the social, economic, and political order, where policies, resource distribution systems, or power relations prevent a group of people from accessing available livelihoods. Simply put, this poverty is caused by unequal socio-political conditions that trap a person. Here, poverty is not the individual’s fault but the result of a system that buries vulnerable groups’ access to basic rights. They are trapped in an endless cycle, not because of laziness, but because the social structure closes off their path.

If we observe carefully, we realise that structural poverty creates a vicious cycle. Poor families have limited access to many things. They struggle to meet proper nutritional needs, leading to poor health conditions and subsequently low life expectancy. This condition also affects their children, who do not receive the necessary nutrition, resulting in malnutrition such as stunting.

Poor families with poor health also find it difficult to access decent healthcare. They tend to avoid hospitals. When they fall ill, they prefer to endure it rather than go to a hospital due to financial difficulties. Another option is seeking alternative medicine, which is usually cheaper but often does not help and may even worsen their health condition. This situation frequently leads to death. If the parents die, the children become neglected orphans, repeating the same fate.

Poor families also struggle to obtain a decent education. Their economic condition prevents them from sending their children to school. They cannot afford tuition fees and other necessities like uniforms, notebooks, and transportation costs. Even if they can, most are only able to attend up to high school. Those who graduate from high school rarely manage to continue to higher education, thus becoming unskilled labourers.

Consequently, without quality education, they are stranded in low-wage jobs. They can only work as manual labourers, becoming farmhands, construction workers, or scavengers, and not a few end up involved in criminal activities. This condition makes them continue the chain of poverty from their families.

Poor families unable to access healthcare suffer from poor health and low work productivity. As a result, their children do not receive a proper education. A history of low-quality education makes them unskilled and thus cheap labour. Consequently, they become poor again and restart the cycle of poverty.

We can imagine how dire this condition is. How can poor families break free from this poverty cycle? One requirement for social mobility is the availability of access to education, health, and employment. When all these accesses are closed, this vicious cycle of poverty will continue, producing poor families in the future. Structural poverty is a mirror of collective failure, not an individual disgrace. As long as we remain complacent in blaming the victims, poverty will remain an eternal legacy.

It must be emphasised that breaking the poverty cycle is not solely the responsibility of individuals but a collective task for all elements of the nation, including the government, private sector, communities, and civil society. Concrete efforts such as expanding access to quality education, guaranteeing affordable health services, and creating decent jobs must be designed synergistically and sustainably. Inclusive, pro-poor policies will pave the way for social mobility, breaking the structural trap that shackles affected generations. Respect basic rights.