Functionalist Perspective and Poverty, Essay Example

Herbert Gans wrote in his piece No, Poverty Has Not Disappeared numerous reasons why poverty should be seen as a positive thing within society. This type of view is not necessarily beneficial for everyone, nor can it be seen as something the poor will appreciate, but for the benefit of society as a whole, Gans had made a conclusion that poverty indeed is needed in society for things to function. If poverty were to be diminished, many things would take on negative turns, and this would greatly affect the balance of society today. Poverty is needed by the people who are in the middle class or of a higher status.

A function I found most logical in Gans’ essay was how the existence of poverty is needed by society in order for the unwanted jobs to be taken care of. These jobs are the ones considered as “dirty” work; they can be something dangerous, underpaid or even temporary. The poor in society ensures that these jobs will always be filled because of their lack of choices in a career path. The poor function in society as the pool of people who are unable to be “unwilling” to take these jobs at low wages. This is important to society as a whole because in ensures the balance of jobs, and if these jobs are not taken care of there will be a number of things left undone. There are many places which require such jobs which pay low wages, Gans suggests that these can be found in hospitals, restaurants, factories, even in rural environments. The function of the poor is the assurance that these jobs will always be filled.

Another function of the poor is that they purchase goods which other people do not want. This ensures that society minimizes wasted resources and makes use of everything which is produced to its maximum extent. These are things like second hand clothing, day-old bread and other things which people of higher social statuses would not bother with or would simply throw away. This keeps the economic value of items much longer, and ensures that there are no “wastes” in society. The food, items and services are still paid for; however they may not be of the same quality. Additionally, the poor provide income for professionals who are either too old or poorly trained. Because the poor cannot afford doctors, teachers or lawyers which are top quality, they will offer jobs to those who are in the bottom of the chain, and this keeps the economic flow of cash going. Society needs the poor also for their purchasing power, no matter how limited it may be compared to those of higher social status.

The poor are also to serve a cultural function. According to Gans, the poor’s folk culture from the past has come to be appreciated in today’s modern age. There were many examples given, and the ones I find interesting are examples pertaining to music. The poor people of the South decades ago had a culture of singing blues and their spiritual country music. Nowadays, this is enjoyed by people from all social statuses. Even rock – which used to be targeted for those poor class, and performed by people who were not entirely of a high class – is now being enjoyed mostly by the middle class. Also, people who are in the music industry for rock are now also very rich. The poor culture of the past provides the rich a culture which they can enjoy.

In Gans’ statement about the persistence and existence of poverty means that poverty is needed by society in order for things to function well; that the alternatives for poverty in society would result in a dysfunction for the rest of society. Gans is pointing out that the members of the middle and the high class needs the poor, more than the poor need them. If there were no poor in society, the middle class would become of lower status, and this is not something which they would be happy about. The existence of the poor in society ensures that all is well for the middle class and the upper class to function well and be comfortable in their standards of living.