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 The origins and stability of these beliefs are related to a complex set of factors involving the economic system, the class structure, and the political system of the United States. The interplay of these factors can be best understood in a comparative light, i.e., by exploring cross-national variations in the perceptions of poverty. In a 1977 study of the way poverty is perceived in nine Western European countries, only the United Kingdom evidenced attitudes similar to those expressed in the United States. Whereas nearly half of all the respondents to a national survey in the United Kingdom attributed poverty to "laziness and lack of will power," only 11 percent did so in the Federal Republic of Germany, 12 percent in the Netherlands, 16 percent in France, 20 percent in Italy, 22 percent in Belgium, 23 percent in Denmark, and less than a third in Ireland and Luxembourg.<sup>2</sup>  The individualistic explanation of poverty, then, far from being universal, seems, in Western society at least, to be peculiarly Anglo-American. The origins and stability of these beliefs are related to a complex set of factors involving the economic system, the class structure, and the political system of the United States. The interplay of these factors can be best understood in a comparative light, i.e., by exploring cross-national variations in the perceptions of poverty. In a 1977 study of the way poverty is perceived in nine Western European countries, only the United Kingdom evidenced attitudes similar to those expressed in the United States. Whereas nearly half of all the respondents to a national survey in the United Kingdom attributed poverty to "laziness and lack of will power," only 11 percent did so in the Federal Republic of Germany, 12 percent in the Netherlands, 16 percent in France, 20 percent in Italy, 22 percent in Belgium, 23 percent in Denmark, and less than a third in Ireland and Luxembourg.<sup>2</sup>  The individualistic explanation of poverty, then, far from being universal, seems, in Western society at least, to be peculiarly Anglo-American.
  
-In 1978 the French social scientist Robert Castel argued that the paradox of poverty in affluent American society has rested on the notion that "the poor are individuals who themselves bear the chief responsibility for their condition. As a result the politics of welfare centers around the management of individual deficiencies." 
From the building of almshouses in the late nineteenth century to President Johnson's "War on Poverty," Americans have failed to emphasize the social rights of the poor, "rights whose interpretation is independent of the views of the agencies charged with dispensing assistance” 
 +In 1978 the French social scientist Robert Castel argued that the paradox of poverty in affluent American society has rested on the notion that "the poor are individuals who themselves bear the chief responsibility for their condition. As a result the politics of welfare centers around the management of individual deficiencies."<sup>3</sup> 
From the building of almshouses in the late nineteenth century to President Johnson's "War on Poverty," Americans have failed to emphasize the social rights of the poor, "rights whose interpretation is independent of the views of the agencies charged with dispensing assistance”<sup>4</sup> 
-The data from public opinion polls support this argument. They indicate that Americans tend to be far more concerned about the duties or social obligations of the poor, particularly the welfare poor, than about their social rights as American citizens to be free poverty and economic deprivation.  +
  
-A recent survey suggests that underlying such public sentiment is the belief that it is the moral fabric of individuals, not inequities in the social and economic structure of society, that is the cause of the problem. Indeed, this survey uncovered widespread sentiment for the notion that most welfare recipients do not share the majority view about the importance of hard work.  A majority of the whites polled in this study disagreed with the pro-welfare statement that “most welfare recipients do need help and could not get along without welfare.” There was strong sentiment for the view that welfare reform, in the words of one respondent, should be "to get people motivated and become part of the system." Finally, this study emphasized "that there is today, as there has been for years, general agreement - shared by whites and nonwhites alike – that many people on welfare could be working, that many people on welfare cheat, and that a lot of money spent on behalf of the poor has been wasted.  +The data from public opinion polls support this argument. They indicate that Americans tend to be far more concerned about the duties or social obligations of the poor, particularly the welfare poor, than about their social rights as American citizens to be free poverty and economic deprivation.<sup>5</sup>   
 + 
 +A recent survey suggests that underlying such public sentiment is the belief that it is the moral fabric of individuals, not inequities in the social and economic structure of society, that is the cause of the problem. Indeed, this survey uncovered widespread sentiment for the notion that most welfare recipients //do// not share the majority view about the importance of hard work.<sup>6></sup>  A majority of the whites polled in this study disagreed with the pro-welfare statement that “most welfare recipients do need help and could not get along without welfare.” There was strong sentiment for the view that welfare reform, in the words of one respondent, should be "to get people motivated and become part of the system." Finally, this study emphasized "that there is today, as there has been for years, general agreement - shared by whites and nonwhites alike – that many people on welfare could be working, that many people on welfare cheat, and that a lot of money spent on behalf of the poor has been wasted.<sup>7</sup>  
  
 The heavy emphasis on the individual traits of the poor and on the duties or social obligations of welfare recipients are not unique to the general public. This "common wisdom" has been uncritically Integrated In the work of many poverty researchers.  The heavy emphasis on the individual traits of the poor and on the duties or social obligations of welfare recipients are not unique to the general public. This "common wisdom" has been uncritically Integrated In the work of many poverty researchers. 
  
-Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the expanding network of poverty researchers In the United States paid considerable attention to the question of individuals’ work attitudes and the association between income maintenance programs and the work ethic of the poor. They consistently ignored the effects of basic economic transformations and cyclical processes on the work experiences and prospects of the poor. In an examination of American approaches to the study of poverty from a European perspective, Waller Korpi pointed out that “efforts to explain poverty and Inequality in the United States... appear primarily to have been sought in terms of the characteristics of the poor.”  Whereas poverty researchers In the United States have conducted numerous studies on the work motivation of the poor, problems of human capital (whereby poverty is discussed as, if not reduced to, a problem of lack of education and occupational skills), and the effects of income-maintenance programs on the supply of labor, they have largely neglected to study the impact of extremely high levels of postwar unemployment on impoverished Americans. Ironically, "In Europe, where unemployment has been considerably lower, the concerns of politicians as well as researchers have been keyed much more strongly to the question of unemployment," states Korpi. "It Is an intellectual paradox that living in a society that has been a sea of unemployment, American poverty researchers have concentrated their research Interests on the work motivation of the poor.”  +Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the expanding network of poverty researchers In the United States paid considerable attention to the question of individuals’ work attitudes and the association between income maintenance programs and the work ethic of the poor. They consistently ignored the effects of basic economic transformations and cyclical processes on the work experiences and prospects of the poor. In an examination of American approaches to the study of poverty from a European perspective, Waller Korpi pointed out that “efforts to explain poverty and Inequality in the United States... appear primarily to have been sought in terms of the characteristics of the poor.”  Whereas poverty researchers In the United States have conducted numerous studies on the work motivation of the poor, problems of human capital (whereby poverty is discussed as, if not reduced to, a problem of lack of education and occupational skills), and the effects of income-maintenance programs on the supply of labor, they have largely neglected to study the impact of extremely high levels of postwar unemployment on impoverished Americans. Ironically, "In Europe, where unemployment has been considerably lower, the concerns of politicians as well as researchers have been keyed much more strongly to the question of unemployment," states Korpi. "It Is an intellectual paradox that living in a society that has been a sea of unemployment, American poverty researchers have concentrated their research Interests on the work motivation of the poor.”<sup>9</sup>  
  
-Another irony is that despite this narrow focus, these very American researchers have consistently uncovered empirical findings that undermine, not support, assumptions about the negative effects of welfare receipt on Individual Initiative and motivation. Yet these assumptions persist among policymakers and "the paradox of continuing high //poverty// during a period of general prosperity has contributed to the recently emerging consensus that welfare must be reformed.”  +Another irony is that despite this narrow focus, these very American researchers have consistently uncovered empirical findings that undermine, not support, assumptions about the negative effects of welfare receipt on Individual Initiative and motivation. Yet these assumptions persist among policymakers and "the paradox of continuing high //poverty// during a period of general prosperity has contributed to the recently emerging consensus that welfare must be reformed.”<sup>10</sup>  
  
 Although it is reasonable to argue that policymakers are not aware of a good deal of the empirical research on the effects of welfare, the General Accounting Office (GAO), an investigative arm of Congress, released a study in early 1987 which reported that there was no conclusive evidence for the prevailing belief that welfare discourages individuals from working, breaks up two-parent families, or affects the child-bearing rates of unmarried women, even young unmarried women.  Although it is reasonable to argue that policymakers are not aware of a good deal of the empirical research on the effects of welfare, the General Accounting Office (GAO), an investigative arm of Congress, released a study in early 1987 which reported that there was no conclusive evidence for the prevailing belief that welfare discourages individuals from working, breaks up two-parent families, or affects the child-bearing rates of unmarried women, even young unmarried women. 
commencement/1989.txt · Last modified: 2020/12/07 16:49 (external edit)