Hardships of Scarcity: Microsociology on Poor People’s Survival Strategies in Everyday Life

The United Nations' (2014) Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that:Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.The general media and previous research however, indicate that these basic human rights are absent in the everyday life of millions of people across the world. Consequently there are people who struggle from food shortage, improper housing conditions, illnesses, and lack of education. Moreover, widespread poverty is harmful to the economy of entire nations (Spicker, 2007, pp. 98-99) and affects the global market through unequal distribution of wealth and labor (Potter, Binns, Elliot, & Smith, 2004). It is thus evident that poverty as a social problem is an important sociological topic.In this study my aim is to understand poor people's sources of strength, social relations, sources of income, and perspectives as strategies to cope with poverty in everyday life. I increased my comprehension by listening to their stories and observing their surroundings, behaviors, and appearances. By describing and analyzing their situations and definitions related to poverty, I gained more knowledge of how poor people cope with the social consequences of poverty, and convey this knowledge to the readers. If we understand more about survival strategies of the poor, we might also understand more about matters such as prejudices towards the poor and why some poor people intentionally or unintentionally break social norms, and conflicts (underlying, potential, or emerging) among the poor and other social groups. This can lead to a better understanding of the role more privileged people play- or not-in the lives of the poor.Poverty in the Philippines is defined as a pervasive social problem (Osias, 2011, p. 2) which makes the topic in question socially relevant. The town of Hagonoy in the province of Bulacan provided me with information and a location distanced from popular tourist areas. Please take note that this article does not focus on the many possible theoretical definitions of poverty as such.The Philippines and HagonoySome basic knowledge of the country will put forward some of the broader contexts that affect the people. The Philippines was under Spanish rule for 333 years and then under US guardianship for 48 years. Consequently, there are Western cultural influences that have integrated into the Filipinos' lives. For example, Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion and English is one of the official languages.Political agitations have marked the history of the Philippines. Although high in resources and the potential to develop into a large industrial economy, the country is mainly an agricultural society where poverty contrasts with extreme wealth (Philippines, 2014). According to an article by BBC (Philippines Profile, 2014) the country is moving away from agriculture towards a promising industrialized economy. The industrial expansion that occurred during the end of the 20th century however had a negative impact on the environment (Philippines, 2014). The Philippines has the highest birth rate in Asia; despite this, the government has been careful in taking measures to decrease the birth rate in order to avoid clashes with the Catholic Church (Philippines Profile, 2014). However in December 2012, a reproductive health law was passed making sex education and contraceptives more accessible to the poor (Sabapathy, 2014; "The Philippines passes reproductive health law," 2013). The issues mentioned above are clearly reflected in the fishing town of Hagonoy (Maps included, see Provincial Government of Bulacan, 2007; Zamboanga.com, 2013 in Appendix A). …