Whose behaviour? Why poverty research should focus on inequality

Many in the United Kingdom are experiencing poverty because of extreme inequality of wealth. However, the dominant political explanation is that poverty is at least partially due to the behaviour and personal deficits of the poorest. Although a feature of neo-liberalism, holding people responsible for their own poverty has a long history as it serves the interests of the wealthiest. Equally longstanding are arguments that refute this individualistic perspective and instead show how poverty is structural, but these are less frequent and visible. Using existing literature, this article provides an analysis of these counterarguments to show common stereotypes of people experiencing poverty are inaccurate and discriminatory. This demonstrates that poverty research is problematic if it suggests, to any extent, that disadvantaged individuals are to blame and therefore it should be viewed as prejudiced. Instead, research should focus on the behaviour, choices and personal deficits of the most privileged such as the greed and selfishness that feeds into economic and social policy. Until it is recognized by academics, policy-makers and the wider public that no person experiencing poverty is to blame, poverty will not be eradicated because policy will continue to be based on the idea that some deserve their underprivileged position.