Świat społeczny ludzi żyjących w ubóstwie
The Social World of People Living in Poverty

Summary/Abstract: This is a chapter of a book containing the results of a study entitled ‘Old and New Forms of Poverty—The Lifestyles of Poor Families,’ which was conducted under the direction of Elżbieta Tarkowska in the second half of the 1990s. The author presents the social world of poor people in Poland, and two of its aspects in particular: the limitation of interhuman contacts to the family circle, and the role of institutions such as parishes, schools, and especially social support, in resolving the ongoing problems of daily life. Social policy, as reconstructed from the statements of people living in poverty, is oriented toward temporary activities and not toward shaping aspirations and behaviors, and yet the sole method of overcoming the apathy and helplessness accompanying long-term poverty is to arouse aspirations in the sphere of education.

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