The Lowest Social Stratum - Essay Example

Charles Murray argued that there was an emerging under in the UK-is he right? Evaluate the evidence and consider whether his view is justified. Underclass is defined as: “The lowest societal stratum usually composed of the disadvantaged.” (The Free Dictionary n.d.; Your Dictionary 2010). Underclass is described as a class comprising of those individuals who have fallen prey to the poverty trap. Following this description, it is a class that is placed beneath the typical social class and it consists of the most deprived people. Mostly people who are unemployed, disabled, old and single parent – especially single mothers – are included in this class (Business dictionary n.d.). There are two schools of thoughts regarding underclass: Pathological and Structural. The pathological approach is given by Murray, who argues that the reason behind people being in the underclass is their behavior and attitude, which has made them a part of the vicious cycle of poverty. The structural approach argues that the underclass is a result of failure of the social structure (Gordon 2001). Some of the characteristics of underclass are: unemployment by choice, welfare dependence, social exclusion, criminality and incompetency (Reardon n.d.). The Social Exclusion Unit (SEU) of the British government defines social exclusion as the circumstances which arise when people or areas are victim of interlinked problems such as unemployment, decreased income, and high level of crimes, bad health and family breakdown (Marsh 2004). Others say that underclass consists of socially excluded individuals such as those who are unemployed, deprived, the black community, criminals, old citizens, et al. But there is no sufficient evidence to conclude that a person who lies in one of these groups is a part of socially excluded beings. For instance, those who are unemployed over a long term may be well off. Most black people will not agree with the idea that they are included in the socially excluded group (Orr 2005). Statistical Evidence The number of unemployed males between ages 18-24, in 1999, has increased to 31.2% as compared to that in 1989, i.e. 20.5%. In 1997, majority of number of dropouts from employment was that of the age group 20-24. Generally, the number of national unemployment, in 1999, was more compared to 1989. Proportion of men from the age group 18-24 in school did not vary to a large extent, but there was an increase in the percentage of young women in higher education since 1989, and among both male and female of 30 and above (Phillips 2001). The unemployed youngsters of ages 16-24 were 428,000, according to government report of 2005. In Scotland, the ratio of young unemployed people is one in every five (Gibbs n.d.). The latest trends (2009), show that 5.3 million people receive out-of-work benefits, out of which 50 percent were disabled, 14 percent were unemployed and 14 percent were single parents. The number of unemployed individuals, of the age group 16-24, rose from 18% in 2008, to 10% in 2009. About 7,000 students were ruled out permanently from schools in 2008/09. The permanent dropout rate of Black Caribbean students from schools is three times more than that of White British (The Poverty Site 2009). The Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS) reviewed that men are less able to pay off their debts as compared to women, while many of them struggle to meet basic living costs. This is due to the higher level of unemployment, high domestic expenses and sluggish pay growth. The Chairman of CCCS concluded that the recent growing underclass is of men as they have been severely affected by the recession (The Telegraph 2010). In 1993, the percentage of property crimes in the UK elevated more than in the US. Percentage of violent crime such as sexual offence, violence against person, robbery, et al, in Britain took lead from America in 1996. In the present world more anti-theft devices are installed in the automobiles. High tech security systems provide protection to stores and homes. The risk of imprisonment started to fall in the mid 1950’s due to which the crime rate rose; however, in 1993, the imprisonment risk began to increase and consequently, the crime rate began to decrease. The British police have become more conscious. In the early 1900’s, the number of poor people in Britain were more as compared to now, but the crime rate of violence was very low. The increase in crime rate was not because of the poor people’s rage against unequal distribution of wealth because the affluent people at that time had more conspicuous lifestyle than the rest of the society had and they had higher moral standards and civilized behavior due to which there was hardly any crime in the society (Phillips 2001). The rate of violence in 1958 was 27 crimes in 100,000 people, while in 1988 it was 314 crimes. These criminals mostly belonged to slums and were in their late teens (Peterson 1992). The rate of violence against people in 2004-2005 was 1,035,046 which is an increased number compared to the statistics of 1998-1999 which were 502,788. In London, the rate of violence in 2004-2005 was 341 offences per 10,000 persons (Gibbs n.d.). According to British Crime Survey (BCS), the rate of violence against people fell in 2007-2009, compared to that in 2002-2003. The incidents of violence have decreased in number by half, compared to the figures of 1995. The rate of attempt to murder also decreased from 621 in 2007-2008 to 575 in 2008-2009. Vehicle related burglary remained stable between 2007 and 2009, but the rate of theft from people rose by 25 percent. Property crime and burglaries have declined by 58 percent. This decrease in crime rates is due to increase in the rate of security measures by individuals. Fraudulent credit card transactions faced by people in UK was 2.8 million, which is 4 percent more compared to the 2007 records (Home Office n.d.). The crimes recorded by the police proved that there was a 20% decline in car crimes, 11% drop in criminal damage, 9% fall in robberies and 8% decrease in burglary in 2009. However, the sexual offences rose to 5% and personal theft increased by 7% (Travis 2010). A great deal of crimes in the inner city is caused by black men according to police figures. Figures given by Scotland Yard prove that more than two thirds of the shooting and more than half of other street crimes, such as robberies, are done by black people (Camber 2010). Over the past few years, many British children have not been familiarized with moral standards and values. The main reason is that these children are nurtured by single parents. In 1969, one out of 12 children was illegitimate in England and Wales, while in 1979 the ratio increased to one in every 9. This proportion further increased to one in 4, in 1989. According to the latest data in 1999, one out of 3 children is born out of wedlock. Generally analyzing, approximately 40% children are born illegitimate (Phillips 2001). The data shows that illegitimacy has augmented from 5.1% of all the births in 1958, to 25.6%, in 1988. These children are raised without fathers and do not get proper attention and lag behind in psychological and emotional development which makes them rowdy, resulting in them being criminals (Peterson 1992). According to Murray, it is a vicious cycle and asserts that all the social problems of underclass are interconnected. Young people who are involved in crimes and drug abuse have low sense of responsibility, thus increasing the probability of babies out of wedlock which will also keep them unemployed. When there is no family and job, drugs are used as a source of pastime (Peterson 1992). In 2004, the number of babies of unmarried mothers has increased to 42%. This trend indicates that it is likely that the rate of illegitimacy will increase in the coming years. The number of married girls of the age group 15-19 years was 27200 which decreased to 11,700, in 2003 (Gibbs n.d.). According to a research report, the number of illegitimate births in British population is one in every 25 (Rincon 2009). In England and Wales, 41% babies are born out of wedlock while generally speaking; this rate is 46% in UK, which is strikingly high (Sailer 2005). Conclusion By assessing the work done by Murray on the basis of recent trends, I conclude that the underclass in UK is growing. The number of unemployed people, between ages 16-24 years, increased in recent years but there was a slight decrease in the crime rate. Moreover, the rate of babies born out of wedlock is rising considerably. More studies are being conducted to understand the causes of underclass to generate solutions for preventing it. References Business dictionary, n.d. Underclass. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 13 December 2010] Camber, R., 2010. Black men ‘to blame for most violent city crime’... but theyre also the victims. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 13 December 2010] Gibbs, B., n.d. The Underclass and Crime: How to Deal with an Economic, Political, and Cultural Disaster? [Online] Available at: [Accessed 13 December 2010] Gordon, J., 2001."The term underclass refers to those who, in their behavior and attitudes, have cut themselves off from, and so represent a threat to, normal society" Discuss. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 13 December 2010] Home Office, n.d. Crime in England and Wales 2008/09. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 13 December 2010] Marsh, A., 2004. Housing and the Social Exclusion Agenda in England. Australian Journal of Social Issues, [e-journal] 42. Available at: [Accessed 13 December 2010] Orr, S.W., 2005. Social Exclusion and the Theory of Equality: The Priority of Welfare and Fairness in Policy. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 13 December 2010] Peterson, W. H., 1992. Book Review: The Emerging British Underclass by Charles Murray. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 13 December 2010] Phillips, M., 2001. Underclass + 10 Charles Murray and the British Underclass 1990 – 2000. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 13 December 2010] Reardon, N., n.d. The Underclass Debate. [Power Point] Available at: [Accessed 13 December 2010] Rincon, P., 2009. Study debunks illegitimacy myth. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 13 December 2010] Sailer, S., 2005. How Much Ruin in a Nation? UK vs. US White Working Class. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 13 December 2010] The Free Dictionary, n.d. Underclass. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 13 December 2010] The Poverty Site, 2009. United Kingdom indicators. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 13 December 2010] The Telegraph, 2010. Debt: Men are emerging as the new underclass. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 13 December 2010] Travis, A., 2010. Police figures show unexpected 8% drop in crime. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 13 December 2010] Your Dictionary, 2010. Underclass. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 13 December 2010] Read More