That’s Men: How do you view the poor or destitute?

On one of my first visits to Dublin, I stopped a well-dressed man to ask for directions, when a Traveller woman interrupted us to beg for money. He waved her away irritably and when she had moved off he pronounced, “those people have more money than you or me”. I was taken aback because the woman looked very poor to me and I had never heard this view being expressed before, though I have heard it many times since.

The man to whom I was speaking was not all that different to the rest of us. That’s important to acknowledge as we move through what may turn out to be an era of increasing inequality which will test our attitudes to those who live in poverty.

Some of those attitudes are far more "anti-poor" than we might imagine, as Claudia Hammond has pointed out in her book Mind over money: The psychology of money and how to use it. Ms Hammond presents BBC Radio 4's All in the mind.

For instance, the belief that poverty is the fault of the poor is fairly well entrenched notwithstanding the influence of socialists and trade unionists in the 20th century. A survey by the Joseph Rowntree foundation in Britain found that 69 per cent of people believe almost anyone can get on in life if they really want to and make the effort. This doesn't leave very much room for the influence of how society is organised, the disappearance of many jobs, the scarcity of affordable housing, prejudice in the workplace against people with disabilities, and so on.

More disturbing perhaps was a piece of research at Princeton University which looked at the behaviour of the brain when we are confronted with images of very poor people or of people who appear to be rich. The part of the brain that becomes active when we recognise another human being lit up when subjects were presented with images of the rich. But when shown images of destitute, homeless people the "human recognition" system failed to activate. However, those parts that are involved in registering disgust became very active.

I don’t want to make too much of this piece of research – we have to take into account that US culture is different to ours and that most people who are poor are not obviously destitute. But it says something that the people in this research registered disgust rather than fellow-feeling at the image of a destitute person.

That UK research I mentioned earlier may well reflect what is known as the “just world” view. In the just world, if you work hard, keep the law, and generally do your best, things will work out okay. You will be rewarded. That this is not true – lots of people work hard for a relatively little reward and are one eviction notice away from homelessness – doesn’t stop this view from persisting. It comforts us. It helps us to make sense of the world. It makes the world a less scary place.

Problem is, on the other side of that coin is the possibility that if people are poor it must be their own fault. The just world is punishing them or at least withholding its rewards. And indeed there is research suggesting that people who hold to the “just world” view have less sympathy for the poor than those who don’t. So in confronting social issues I think it’s useful to pay attention to our own attitudes. Our attitudes affect public policy. I suspect, for instance, that the fact that the formation of a government was held up by disagreements over water charges and not by an attempt to work out a solution to homelessness is a reflection of these attitudes.

That bodes ill for the real, flesh and blood men, women and children who despite their efforts and their wishes can find themselves living way below the poverty line even in a just world.

Padraig O'Morain(pomorain@yahoo.com) is accredited by the Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. His latest book is Mindfulness for Worriers. His daily mindfulness reminder is free by email. @PadraigOMorain