Artikel

Is de "Nieuwe" armoede wel zo nieuw?: een kritische vraagstelling naar de inhoudswaarde van het aspect "nieuw" in het begrip "nieuwe armoede"

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Abstract

Is ‘new’ poverty all that new? A critical evaluation of the aspect ‘new’ within the concept ‘new poverty’ - The phenomenon of poverty has recently received a great deal of public attention. In this context, the use of the denomination ‘new poverty’ is most striking. The essential purpose of the following contribution is to determine whether or not the concept of ‘new poverty’ is scientifically acceptable. The definition of ‘new poverty’ is closely examined in Section I. Considering the lack of any satisfactory definitions, an attempt is made to elaborate a temporary definition of ‘new poverty’. The causes of poverty are dealt with in Section II, following various approaches, namely: personal interpretation, the subcultural approach and the social structure approach. In the view of the preference for the last approach, the version considering the economic situation is opted for when dealing with ‘new poverty’. An application of this version can be found in Section III, which discusses the symptoms of the economic recession along with its consequences for the economically weak. Attention is also paid to the task of the authorities as well as to the interdependence that may be observed between the economy and society when analysing the recession. Finally, Section IV concentrates upon the issue of the value of ‘new’ within the concept ‘new poverty’. After the issue has been raised and a hypothesis formulated, the so-called ‘new’ poor and the traditional poor are discussed. The comparison of the two leads us to the conclusion that poverty increases under the influence of the side-effects of the recession. However, such an increase does not necessitate the creation of new categories that are distinguishable within structural poverty. Both cases involve structurally weak positions, i.e. people who are on the fringe of the production process or who are left out altogether.

How to Cite:

Van Der Gucht, G., (1986) “Is de "Nieuwe" armoede wel zo nieuw?: een kritische vraagstelling naar de inhoudswaarde van het aspect "nieuw" in het begrip "nieuwe armoede"”, Tijdschrift voor Sociale Wetenschappen 31(2), 101–123. doi: https://doi.org/10.21825/tvsw.94923