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Poverty and Violence
Oliver James is a psychologist who researches social issues. His 1997 book Juvenile Violence in a Winner-Loser Culture attempts to find out exactly what it is about poverty that seems to lead to an increase in violence in young men. His conclusions are:
Low income for families causes depression in parents, and most importantly, in mothers, and depressed mothers bring up depressed and angry children.
A ‘winner/loser’ culture portrays owning possessions as the most important symbol of social status and identity. This makes those who do not own the right car/ house/ jacket/ bank or store account feel like ‘losers’ (social exclusion) instead of just poor — thus creating conditions for aggression.
What I thought was important about his research was that it showed how poverty created the conditions for violence. The link is psychological as well as social and economic. It is because of how poverty makes people feel about themselves, and others, that violence becomes a way of getting rid of these painful and unmanageable emotions.
http://www.cyc-net.org/cyc-online/cycol-0700-mckay.html
Ken H: “It is because of how poverty makes people feel about themselves, and others, that violence becomes a way of getting rid of these painful and unmanageable emotions.”
That may be true, but handing money to poor people probably doesn’t help them feel better about themselves. Welfare is dehumanizing. It robs the giver by turning charity into forced wealth redistribution, and it robs the receiver by making them dependent on others rather than letting them feel their own sense of worth and accomplishment.