RESOURCE FILES

Chapter 10

The Architecture of Disadvantage: Poverty and Wealth

Joan Huber and William Form
Why the Rich Are Rich and the Poor Are Poor

Rich people and poor people have entirely different explanations of their economic status, according to sociologists Joan Huber and William Form.¹ They hypothesized that wealthy and middle-class individuals see themselves as deserving of their status. They are likely to attribute wealth and poverty to such personal characteristics as ability, thrift, and effort.

The poor, however, are more likely to emphasize structural forces in their lives, such as the failure of private industry to provide sufficient jobs or the failure of society to provide adequate schooling.²

To test their hypothesis, Huber and Form interviewed 107 poor, 200 middle-income, and 47 rich individuals in Michigan. They bluntly asked their subjects, "Why are rich people rich and why are poor people poor?"

The researchers found that about twice as many rich people as poor people cited personal attributes as the cause of both wealth and poverty. Here is a response typical of those offered by the wealthy subjects:

If you have to generalize, it's the self-discipline to accumulate capital and later to use that capital effectively and intelligently to make income and wealth. The poor? I don't think the average person on the lower economic scale wants to assume the responsibilities and obligations necessary to become rich. He doesn't want to be bothered. . . . The rich acquire wealth by their own effort. The poor lack the ability to rise above their class situation. There's no lack of opportunity but lack of ability.³

Compare these comments to one made by a poor subject in the study:

The rich stepped on other people's toes to acquire what they got or they were born with it. The poor? It was handed down through the family. . . . They lacked opportunity.⁴

Higher-income respondents were also more likely to think that poor people don't work as hard as rich people and to believe that a lack of motivation accounts for lack of success.

The great majority of poor people felt that they work just as hard as anybody else even though their rewards have been low. They tended to think that the opportunity structure in society prevents them from becoming successful. Such perceptions have enormously important implications for government policy. If those in power tend to believe that poor people lack motivation, then poverty programs will focus on reducing people's dependence on government subsidies. But if poverty is viewed as the result of structural problems, then policymakers will focus on increasing educational and occupational opportunity for everyone.

David Newman and Rebecca Smith. (Created September 14, 1999). Copyright Pine Forge Press.
http://www.pineforge.com/newman.