Poverty Ethics and Justice by Hennie Lotter

Author:Hennie Lotter [Lotter, Hennie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Public Policy, Social Policy, Social Science, Political Science, Poverty & Homelessness
ISBN: 9781783160273
Google: EF6uBwAAQBAJ
Goodreads: 27306490
Publisher: University of Wales Press
Published: 2011-06-01T00:00:00+00:00

Why do I refer to poverty as a complex affair?

In conclusion I argue that poverty is a multidimensional complex human phenomenon that in each case consists of a complex interweaving of contingent circumstances and factors. Something is described as complex when it consists of a number of parts that vary in kind and importance. Language is a common example of something described as complex. It consists of many kinds of words and sentences that combine in endless ways according to some basic rules.

In complex phenomena the relationships between parts differ, are intricate and complicated. Human beings are often described as complex, in part because of the intricate and complicated relationships between differing parts, such as mind, hormones, emotions and body. Nevertheless, in complex phenomena these parts combine into a complicated whole with characteristics of its own. A skyscraper requires the complex construction of many different materials in varying relationships, but nevertheless the skyscraper forms a complicated whole with describable characteristics.

The combination of parts into a whole can be described in various ways. The parts can be interwoven, connected together, involved in various degrees, intimately mixed, intricately intertwined, entangled, or united. The ways different parts are combined in human beings differ from the combinations of parts found in skyscrapers or language. When phenomena, events or behaviour are called complex in ordinary language, this indicates that people judge such events, phenomena or behaviour not to be easily analysed or understood. Rather, it is difficult to determine the factors involved and disentangle them. Not even the best minds in medical science can easily analyse the functions of the parts of the human brain as a complex phenomenon, nor explain their complicated interactions.

What does it mean to call poverty a complex human phenomenon? Myriad things occur daily in the endless processes of locating, converting, exchanging and distributing resources to ensure survival and enable flourishing. When one or more of the significant things in resource dealing processes go wrong in ways not easily fixed, poverty may result at individual, household, group or societal level. Thus, what poverty consists of, the effects it has on persons and the causes thereof, have many different parts related in many ways (cf. Wilson and Ramphele, 1989: 14). Importantly, these parts combine to form a unique configuration in each individual case. Nevertheless, the configuration exhibits characteristics easily recognized as belonging to the complex, multidimensional phenomenon of poverty. The complexity of poverty can be seen in social science research by noting both its multiple indicators and causes.

In order to understand each individual case of poverty, we must draw a profile that would do justice to the complex configuration of indicators and causes operative in a particular individual’s case. Factors involved can be personal, communal, national, continental or natural. To profile individual or group cases, profilers must be conversant with current poverty research that provides checklists of possible intervening factors. Profilers must also be deeply attentive to all circumstances and conditions actually impacting on a specific case. A detailed quantitative and qualitative description of the scope and extent of a specific case of poverty is needed.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.