Why are people poor? The culture of poverty theory argues that poor people live in a culture that does not allow them to get out of poverty and that socializes them to continue to be poor. Modern...

Why are people poor? The culture of poverty theory argues that poor people live in a culture that does not allow them to get out of poverty and that socializes them to continue to be poor. Modern sociologists look at other social and structural factors in addition to culture. These include globalization, market forces, racism, and government; sociologists understand that poverty reduces one’s life chances. That is, it is not impossible to escape poverty, just difficult.