SOCA01H3 Chapter Notes - Chapter 7: Burakumin, Class Consciousness, Dalit
Document Summary
The poor have difference subcultural value systems than the larger american society and these systems limit their ability and desire to escape their poverty. Lewis suggested that the poor are socialized to view the world in a way that they do not appreciate the value of deferred gratification. Deferred gratification: the ability to forgo immediate pleasures in the interest of achieving greater rewards in the future. Lewis argued that the culture of poverty is not necessarily a bad thing; it could result in an important cultural adaptation to systemic discrimination. The traditional interpretation of lewis"s work holds that a portion of the poor do in fact have difficult deferring gratification. Sociologists argue that changing the structural realities of being poor (u,e,e better education) will result in a decline of poverty over time. The poor lack skills to compete for the new highly skilled jobs that replace industrial jobs.
