Subiektywny wymiar ubóstwa

This article is devoted to the relational-symbolic dimension of contemporary poverty, which is personified today in homo sacer, that is, the excluded person. Relations between the world of wealth and the world of poverty are dominated by contempt, rejection, and a sense of alienation. The result is the perpetuation of social inequalities and problems of identity in increasingly numerous spheres of impoverished people. These are challenges that contemporary society must meet. Science and public discourse are thus concentrating less on describing the symptoms of the problem and more on what excluded people themselves think and feel. Researchers are trying to hear the voices of the poor; qualitative research and analyses of memoir materials are useful to this end. In turning to such sources, the author presents the viewpoint of poor people, their feelings and subjective appraisal of their situation, and their strategies for dealing with poverty.