WOSOCU M1 L4 Uses of Poverty

Robert Merton

created the concepts of manifest, latent, and dysfunction in understanding society by examining the function of poverty

manifest

• intended function of social policies, processes, or actions to affect benefits. basically, expected / intended results of an action.

• example: promotion of contraceptives helps couple manage family planning

latent

• not consciously intended but produces benefits

• example: promotion of contraceptives helps prevent unassisted abortions.

• more example: school helping students make friends / develop social skills

• by learning consequences of latent functions, it may offer understanding of why poverty persist in our society

dysfunctions

• a harmful outcome

• example: contraceptives leads to early engagement of young people in bembang

Functions of poverty

• society’s “dirty work will” be done

• because poor are required to work at low wages, they subsidize activities that benefits upper classes (ex: underpay)

• creates jobs that serves the poor to protect rest of society from them

• poor buy goods others do not want

• poor can be used to justify social norms that benefits those that promote them (sinasabing “tamad” daw ang mahihirap")

• assumptions that the poor engage in risky / deviant behaviors. hence, crimes are automatically associated with them.