http://davefagg.com.au/2009/07/the-undeserving-poor/ Wed, 12 Oct 2011 02:38:09 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://davefagg.com.au/2009/07/the-undeserving-poor/comment-page-1/#comment-6 Joanne Wed, 29 Jul 2009 07:52:36 +0000 http://davefagg.com.au/?p=425#comment-6 Sociologist, Anthony Giddens has an interesting take on the 'undeserving poor'. He writes about a study done in the 1960s of working class youth in Northern England. These were 'the lads' who continuously defied the authority of their teachers and mostly mucked around in class. They had a limited knowledge of the world beyond their working class neighbourhood where they saw that people worked all their lives in menial jobs for little reward. They knew that this was very likely to be their destiny as well. So they did not see any point in submitting to the authority of the school. Giddens argues that these boys understanding of their life chances was reasonably accurate and their behaviour rational in the circumstances. It is possible that if we examine the circumstances of the 'undeserving poor' we may see the logic of their actions within the logic of the larger society in which we live. Sociologist, Anthony Giddens has an interesting take on the ‘undeserving poor’. He writes about a study done in the 1960s of working class youth in Northern England. These were ‘the lads’ who continuously defied the authority of their teachers and mostly mucked around in class. They had a limited knowledge of the world beyond their working class neighbourhood where they saw that people worked all their lives in menial jobs for little reward. They knew that this was very likely to be their destiny as well. So they did not see any point in submitting to the authority of the school. Giddens argues that these boys understanding of their life chances was reasonably accurate and their behaviour rational in the circumstances. It is possible that if we examine the circumstances of the ‘undeserving poor’ we may see the logic of their actions within the logic of the larger society in which we live.

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