Transformation of Social Order with Social Change

TFT Reflection Paper on Poverty

Name: Annette Kezaabu Kasimbazi

Question:
The struggle against poverty is a lifetime commitment. What are some of the structures that influence and perpetuate poverty? In your organisation, what are some of the poverties that impact on the communities with whom you engage? How do you envision these communities 10 years from now and what strategic initiatives would you use to achieve this vision?

Poverty has been created by the economic and social system that we have designed for the world. It is the institutions that we have built and feel so proud of, which created poverty- Muhammad Yunus -

Introduction
The struggle against poverty is a lifetime commitment. Poverty results from the primary economic and political structures of a society. It requires a change in power from using power over others to advance selfish interests, to using power-with, to facilitate the self-development of all including the marginalized (Hoff, Karla and Stiglitz, 2001). This power may result from international, national or localized structures that promote and exacerbate poverty resulting from policies and procedures. On one hand, economic power is expressed in the distribution of productive assets such as land, capital (Money used to start off a business) whereas social power is expressed in the status and position given to different social groups; and political power describes each person’s voice in decision-making in both the private and public spheres. These systems of power form a “social order” (Schneider, Schneider and Hansen 1972, Mirowski, and Plehwe, 2009). The social order that comes out of globalising capitalism is one which excludes and oppresses certain groups of people, especially those already marginalized such as those with less or no access to skills and education. This paper will discuss some of the structures that influence and perpetuate poverty and expound on some of the poverties that impact on the community where I...