Sociological Perspectives on Poverty

These flashcards cover key terms related to sociological perspectives on poverty and critiques of the New Right viewpoint.

Blaming the victim

A theory that assigns responsibility for poverty to the poor themselves rather than exploring systemic causes.

New Right

A political position that is critiqued for its lack of sociological grounding and for advocating policies that may serve capitalist interests.

Marxist critique

The argument that New Right views serve as ideological justifications for capitalist and bourgeois politics.

Cutting public spending

A practice advocated by the New Right, often resulting in reduced welfare support for the poor.

Functionalist theories

Sociological perspectives that focus on the roles and functions of social institutions, including the family.