Are the poor to blame for their own poverty? 1. In America, there has been a long-running argument, carried over into the political field, about the origins of poverty. For much of the
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, many viewed the poor as having flawed or even depraved characters. Many considered poverty a result
of (or punishment for) sinfulness, laziness, or lack of a proper work ethic; therefore, the poor were ostracized, avoided, stigmatized, and even
thrown in jail.
2. Sociologists started to study poverty systematically in the late 1800s and they quickly concluded that poverty was also caused by social and
economic factors beyond people's own control. Gradually, in the United States, public attitudes toward the poor started changing. In the
1930s, due to the Great Depression, large numbers of people had to struggle to make a living. It became clear that they were not to blame for
their joblessness and poverty. Under President Roosevelt's leadership, the public came to realize that the poor needed government
assistance. They deserved help, and they would get it.
3. Further discussions about the social causes of poverty in the 1960s helped eliminate a lot of negative thinking about the character of the poor.
At that time, under the heading of the “War on Poverty," programs were devised to combat poverty and its harmful effects. However, the
results were not what people hoped for. According to recent studies, enthusiasm for the "War on Poverty” faded in the late 1970s and 1980s.
Once again, stereotypes of "welfare queens" and "welfare bums” became common, and support for programs devised to help the poor
waned significantly. The "War on Poverty" was not so much lost as abandoned. Today, attitudes toward the poor are ambivalent. Many people
feel that the government should strive to combat poverty. However, many others hold the view that government assistance for the poor is
undeserved because they judge poor people to be naturally lazy or incapable.
Which of the following best expresses the central point of this passage?
O A. In the United States, it is clear that there are government programs to help OB. The poor are lazy and lack a work ethic and thus are responsible for their own
combat poverty
condition
C. There have been varying perspectives on the origins of poverty over the past OD. After the "War on Poverty" was abandoned, people no longer were in agreement
about the role of the government in helping the poor.
three hundred years.