Emelt szintű érettségi/2.

Ember és társadalom

Family relationships:

For most people, the family usually means the nuclear family (father, mother and children),
the basic unit of social organisation and the basic living arrangement. The family
provides its members with protecion, security, companinonship and socialisation. Most
families are created through marriage.
As the twentieth century brought about several changes, a
very significant change occured in family life. A century ago families lived a completely
different lifestyle. It was the husband who was the breadwinner of the family. He was
responsible for earning the money for the family. However, the role of the wife was as
important as that of the husband. She was in charge of the whole family. She had to bring
up the children, make sure they had enough to eat. They were supposed to do all the
housework which was much more difficult than nowadays. They did not have the same
household devices like dishwashers, microwave ovens, irons, and so on. The beginning of
the century saw the rise of the suffragette movement, which culminated in the event that
women received the right to vote. Women were an integral part of the war industry in the
two world wars. This means they did most of the jobs men had been responsible for earlier. It
might be true that women, having experienced working, opted for going out to work and
doing full-or part-time jobs. In Hungary, living conditions also played an important role
in the fact that women started to work. Low wages, difficulties to make ends meet forced
women to do two jobs at the same time. Even in the middle of the twentieth
century, most people got married right after high school. Young couples struggled together to
make ends meet and to bring up the children. It was considered abnormal if a girl who was
over 20 was still single. Women wanted to avoid remaining spinsters and they thought it was
a shame if no one chose them. Another important factor was the social status of the young. It
was obvious that two people from different levels of society do not match each other. It
was quite rare for people with different backgrounds to get married. If it happened, there were
usually family feuds, young men were sometimes disinherited by their fathers if they dared to
marry someone inferior to their ranks. All in all family life wasn’t easier. The wars
destroyed million families, they lost one of their family members at least.
In today’s world it is
almost unimaginable to have three or even four generations living under the same roof
in Hungary. A century ago it was normal to do so but not any more. Today the gap between
generations is so wide that it would be unbearable to live together.
Divorce is a controversial
issue nowadays. Nowadays it has become less of a stigma, due to changing social
attitudes. There are several reasons why people get divorced. Most people do not know each
other at the time of their marriage. I think a reason for getting divorced can be the lack of
communication. There can be several other reasons for the high number of divorces.
These can be infidelity, infertility, criminality or insanity. When a couple gets
divorced, it is still not the end of their relationship. For some of them it is the beginning. The
beginning of a very unpleasant relationship. First, they cannot agree on how to divide
their properties and both have more claims than they are entitled, too. It leads to further
arguments and no settlement. In Hungary, divorced parents are not judged in the same way.
It is usually the mother who gets the chance to bring up the children. For some reason, the
Hungarian legal system regards mothers better caregivers than fathers.
In my opinion,
children who lose the most in a divorce. Obviously, they cannot be split and it is usually
not them who decide which parent will have the right to continue the upbringing. They
are not able to make a judgement about their parents and mostly, each parent wants to
influence them in favour of themselves. They have to cope with health problems, like
disturbed sleep, eating problems, poor concentration, tiredness. Behavioural problems
(agressivity, isolation) can also occur. Of course there are cases when getting divorce is
better solution than living together during constant quarrels.

My future family – the most important milestones:

Factors of starting your own family: It depends on several factors, such as finding the
ideal partner, creating suitable financial background, health conditions. I think the ideal
age for me is ………… Starting your own family after 40 as a woman is not a good decision,
according to me. It is throat thigtening feeling that I won’t support my children during
their life.
Of course you need an ideal partner to start your family. What makes an ideal
partner? Picking someone to fall in love with, believe it or not, is put down to genes and
hormones. We are usually attracted by similarities. It's easy to fall for someone and enjoy
being with them if you have a lot in common. Most importantly, you should have shared
values, priorities and goals.
 You can meet the love of your life in the traditional way: hang out in pubs and
bars, at school, work, with the help of a mutual friend, etc. Researchers claim that it is
appearance, body language and voice that we are first attracted by. It takes less than two
minutes to decide whether we are drawn to someone or not. If there's real chemistry
between the two of you, you're ready to go through the three phases of love. The first
stage is 'lust', an intense sexual desire. 'Attraction', the second stage, is like an obsession.
If you manage to 'upgrade' to the third stage, 'attachment', you have a good chance of
forming a strong bond.
Wedding and marriage is the dream of almost every girl. It isn’t as
important as it was several year ago but it is still a socially recognised and approved union
and partnership between two people. Prepare you wedding is a long procedure. You
have to make preparations for the big day. The first is to complete legal requirements. You
have to be over the minimum legal age, obtain parental consent, avoid incest and bigamy.
You have to decide on your married name. Then you have to decide on the type of ceremony
and book the venue, set a budget and control your expenditure. On the wedding day there is a
church ceremony, is the couple is religious, and then a ceremony in the city hall. Ceremony is
followed by a reception with a dinner and a big party. The newlyweds go on honeymoon to
relax a little. Creating financial background to your family is not easy nowadays. There is
a tremendous problem in Hungary nowadays. Statictics have shown that a gap has appeared
between the death rate and the birth rate. This means that the population of the country is
decreasing. Although governments have tried to encourage young couples with different
subsidies (CSOK), this issue has not been solved. People are afraid of having a child because
their financial situations are not satisfactory enough to bring up a children. This is a the trend
in the western European countries too, however, it is more likely that it is not the money that
stops them from having children. In the USA, which is the most developed welfare state,
people still have large families, although the family ties are not as strong as in Europe.
Raising children: Raising children is something that’s easier said than
done. It is a full-time job that never ends. In the future I would like to have …. children. It is
hard to imagine the period when I will be a mother/father. I think I will be a child-centred
and loving mother/father, who gives my children everything. As I got enough freedom in
my decisions I would like to give the same freedom to my children. I consider corporal
punishment is inneffective way of raising children. It ruins the child’s self-respect and does
more harm than good. Even though most people plan the arrival of their children, when
the babies are born many parents feel overwhelmed and helpless. Mothers feel isolated
and exhausted, and fathers miss the attention they used to get from their partners.
Although men and women enjoy equal rights, it is usually the mother who bears the brunt of
childcare. In families where both parents work full-time, it’s difficult to manage childcare
without the help of grandparents or reliable babysitters. Babies need round-the-clock care
but things get easier when children begin nursery school or go to kindergarten. For those
families where both parents work there are childcare facilities for schoolchildren in Hungary.
Many primary schools run after-school clubs where children do their homework and
enjoy extra-curricular activities. When the children are ill, one of the parents go on sick
leave or take time off as part of paid parental leave.
Part of bringing up children is making decisions about their
future. Since much depends on what education the children will get, parents spend a lot of
time deciding which primary and secondary school they should send their children to. They
ask family and friends and also go to open days to see the schools for themselves.
When the finish secondary education, young
people have the choice of going on to higher education or starting work. In Britatin
students usually leave their families and study away from home. This is again a difficult
period for the parents, who often suffer from the „empty-nest” syndrome. While
studying, most students do part-time jobs such as working in cafés, shops, restaurants and
pubs to support themselves. In Hungary, if the parents have the means, they go on supporting
their children financially even when the children have families of their own. It seems to be a
never-ending story with small children posing small problems and big children big
problems.

Friendship:

My friends are very important for me, I can’t live without them. Due to my open-minded
personality, good sense of humour, empathy and patience I have a lot of friends and I can
tell everything to them. We are honest with each other. My close friends are similar to me
in several aspects. I am extremely loyal to my friends and expect the same loyalty in
return. Unfortunately, I had to split up several friendships because of the lack of
reliability and loyalty. I think the less is more in the case of friends, that’s why I have
just a few close friend.
Nowadays, face-to-face chat is giving way to texts and messaging; people even prefer
these electronic exchanges to, for instance, simply talking on a phone. It appears that,
increasingly, we prefer to keep people at arm's length. According to me, keep in touch on
social media websites is very good, especially during Covid-19 quarantine, but it can't
replace real meetings, hugs.

Celebrations:

To celebrate means to mark a special day, event, or holiday. You might celebrate a birthday,
a religious holiday, or even the anniversary of a famous battle. There are several types of
celebrations:

Family celebrations:

Among the many family holidays it’s probably birthdays that children enjoy best. On
this day they are the centre of attention: they are being celebrated by family and friends. The
celebrations usually begin in the morning when the birthday boys and girls get presents from
their parents. If the birthday falls on a weekday, the birthday party has to wait until the
weekend when all the children’s friends can turn up for a fun afternoon together. One of the
highlights of the birthday cake with as many candles on it as the birthday boy’ s or girl’s age.
When the candles are out, everybody sings Happy Birthday and wishes the birthday boy or
girl a very happy birthday. The good wishes are followed with lots of presents which are
usually opened straightaway. The party then continues with party games and the eating of the
birthday cake. Adults and teenagers usually organise big birthday parties. These parties in
restaurants or other venues which can seat dozens of people. My last birthday was ……. In
Hungary, people traditionally celebrate namedays but it isn’t as important as birthday.
People also celebrate wedding anniversaries. It’s usually the husband who’s
expected to organise the event and take his wife out for a celebratory meal. When it’s a
round anniversary, the 25th, 30th or 40th, the couple give each other memorable gifts.
On such occasions other relatives, children, brothers and sisters are also present. The longer
the spouses have been together, the bigger the celebration.

Religious holidays:

I am not religious at all, but I know a lot of information about these holidays. Christmas is
the most important religious family holiday for Christian people. At Christmas we celebrate
the birth of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of men. Four weeks before Christmas, people observe
Advent the coming of Jesus to this world. A week before Christmas, carol singers appear
in England’s streets to announce the approach of the festival. They carry a Christmas crib
with them and go from house to house perfoming the nativity play. It relates the story of the
birth of Christ and the appearance of the three kings bringing presents to the Son of
God. December 24 is Christmas Eve. The Christmas tree, a fir or pine is decorated.
Nowadays, a lot of people buy artificial Christmas trees because their leaves would not fall
off. It is also a green option to buy a living tree in a pot. The most important day in
Hungary is the 24th of December, which is Christmas Eve. It is when people put up and
decorate their Christmas trees. Unlike in Britain, where the present are put underneath
the Christmas tree before the celebrations begin, in Hungary people give each other gifts
after the sparklers and candles on the tree have been lit and they have exchanged
Christmas wishes. The dessert most people eat and like is beigli, which is sweet pastry with
walnut or poppy seed filling. In Hungary, December 6 is the day when Santa Claus comes
and puts presents in the boots of little children. My family eats a lot on Christmas Eve
and the two days following it. We usually have ………. In Great Britain Christmas
consists of 3 days but the 25th, Christmas Day, when most of the celebrations take place.
People open their presents in the morning and in the afternoon they have the traditional
Christmas dinner, ehich carries on into the evening. While in Hungary little Jesus is
believed to bring the presents to the children, in Britain and the USA, children are told
that Father Christmas or Santa Claus climbs in the house through the chimney and then
dashes off in his sleigh pulled by some reindeer. The 26th of December is Boxing Day
when, traditionally, people providing various services were given money or presents in boxes
as a thank-you for the service they provided during the year. Nowadays people relax or visit
family and friends. After Christmas, the first religious festival
is Epiphany on January 6. It is held in memory of the coming of the Magi to the baby
Jesus in Betlehem. At Easter we celebrate the Ressurection of
Jesus Christ that is the rising of the Saviour from his tomb three days after his
Crucifixion (on Good Friday). Most Easter traditions are associated with Easter Monday
when boys set out to call on their female friends and relatives and sprinkle them with
perfume or soda water. Girls, in return, treat them to home made cakes or some drinks and
present them with eggs painted mainly red, green or yellow. Children are also presented at
Easter with either some chocolate eggs or a chocolate Easter bunny and an Easter chick.
Recently, it has become widespread that children get money for sprinkling the girls.
I am also familiar with
Pentecost or Whitsun, which is observed on the seventh Sunday following Easter. It is
associated with the coming of the Holy Spirit. A very interesting but not widely known
religious feast is the Assumption, which is the taking of Virgin Mary into Heaven in
bodily form. This day is celebrated all around Europe. Mary is the patron saint of Hungary.

National holidays in Hungary, in the UK and in the USA:

In Hungary there are public holidays which are connected to important events in
Hungarian history. The first such holiday in the year is the 15th of March, when the 1848
revolution and war of independence are commemorated. The official celebrations take
place on the steps of the National Museum, where Petőfi read out his famous poem, The
National Song, which was one of the inspirations of the 1848 revolution. That is when a lot
of decorated scientists, writers and artists receive awards for their outstanding
achievements. New statues are erected and unveiled. We always wear a rosette which is
usually a small ribbon with the national colours tacked on our shirts.
Another important holiday is St Stephen’s Day, which is celebrated
on the 20th of August. St Stephen was the first Hungarian king, and on this day the
foundation of the Hungarian State is commemorated. The 20th of August is also a
harvest festival celebrating the new bread. There are airshows and various displays on the
Danube during the day. The celebrations finish with fireworks in the evening which are
usually watched by thousands of people. The Flower Carnival in Debrecen also attracts
thousands of tourists on this day.
On the 23rd of October, Hungarians commemorate the 1956
revolution and war of indepence and the declaration of the third Hungarian Republic.
There are official celebrations all over the country. Actually this holiday is a new one because
in the old regime, October 23 was considered a taboo subject and was declared a counter-
revolution. Interestingly, in Britain there are no public holidays to
commemorate important historical events. People have time off work during the two
days of Christmas and on New Year’s Day. Good Friday and Easter Monday are also
bank holidays. Apart from these holidays, there are three bank holiday Mondays, which
create long weekends twice in May and once at the end of August each year. Events of
national importance are usually one-off holidays, as was the Royal Wedding in April 2011 or
the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012. On these occasions, an extra bank holidays is given but
only once, in the year when the celebrations take place.
The most important public holiday in the United States
is July 4 or Independence Day. The holiday commemorates the adoption of the Declaration
of Independence on July 4, 1776, in Philadelphia. The thirteen original colonies declared
their independence from Britain. This day is traditionally celebrated publicly with parades,
patriotic speeches, and organized firing of guns and cannon and displays of fireworks. Family
picnics and outings are a feature of private Fourth of July celebrations.

International holidays:

The first Sunday is May is Mother’s Day, when mothers get flowers and children recite
poems. Children look forward to the last Sunday of May as this day is dedicated to them.
May 1 is a spring holidays when maypoles are put up in gardens. It is International Labour
Day, too. People go to picnics and outings.

Celebrations from the USA:

Thanksgiving: celebrates the end of the harvest season and falls on the second Monday
of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. It
is said to be more important than Christmas. Thanksgiving is not celebrated in Great
Britain and the rest of Europe. Thanksgiving Day is traditionally a day when families and
friends get together for a special meal. The meal often includes turkey, stuffing, potatoes,
cranberry sauce, gravy, pumpkin pie and vegetables. Thanksgiving Day is a time when
many people give thanks for what they have.
Groundhog Day is a rather funny day, which is celebrated on February 2 in
the United States, when people wait to see what the groundhog will do as it wakes up from
hibernation. After the long winter sleep, if it comes out of its hole and sees its shadow, it
becomes frightened and goes back to its hole meaning that there will be six more weeks
of winter. If there is no shadow, this means that spring will come soon. This day is similar
to the Hungarian day when a bear comes out to mark the beginning of spring.
St Valentine’s Day is a special holiday dedicated to lovers. It is celebrated
on February 14 by the custom of sending greeting cards to express affection to a chosen
partner. The cards, known as valentines, are generally sent anonymously and are often
designed with hearts to symbolise love. It is also common to have short love messages
printed in newspapers and magazines, and lovers also send flowers or chocolate to each other.
People invite their love to restaurants and express their love and gratitude in several ways.
Traditionally, the holiday come from Britain but became widespread in the United
States. Pancake Day is just another name for Shrove Tuesday, when a lot of people eat
pancakes. Traditionally, this day was the last one before Lent, so people could eat rich food
before starting their fast of forty days.
Halloween is the evening of October 31, preceding the Christian feast of All Saints’
Day. People once believed that on this day, ghosts could be seen. Now, in Britain and the
United States, Halloween is the time for people to have parties in costumes. Children also
dress up as witches, ghosts, vampires, werewolves or skeletons and carve out the inside of a
pumpkin to make lanterns. They go from house to house knocking at the doors shouting trick
or treat. This means that they will play a joke on the people in the house unless they are given
some sweets or money. Most people prefer to give treats rather than having tricks played on
them.

Fashion and clothes, shopping for clothes:

I prefer……… clothes. Although it is hard to resist the temptation sometimes, I try to pay
attention to what I spend my money on, so I am not a shopaholic at all. Shopping for clothes
is as easy as pie, because fashion retailing caters for all tastes and means. High-street
fashion shops and boutiques in malls cater to the fashion conscious customer with a fat
purse. Department stores and large chain stores sell a wide range of off-the-peg outfits at
reasonable prices. Outlet stores sell the previous season’s garment at discount prices. You
can get clothes in charity shops, second-hand shops and street makets without breaking
the bank. Swapping clothes with friends and relatives is the cheapest option. Shopping from
mail order catalogues and online shopping are growing in popularity. Supporters claim that
ordering items from catalogues or on the Internet is the most comfortable way of purchasing
clothes. It is easy to compare goods and prices, and delivery is fast. Opponents argue that
clothes in pictures look more attractive than in real life. You cannot check the quality or
size of the article. If the piece turns out to be the wrong size; if there is a hole in it, or if it is
coming apart at the seams, it is complicated to send it back and get an exchange or a refund.

Shopping:

In a consumer society, people spend a lot of their time shopping. Actually, it is the hobby
to do some shopping and not necessarily for goods that you actually need. In Hungary, the
change of the regime brought about changes in people’s shopping habits as a lot of shopping
malls appeared to satisfy the needs of people who can afford to buy even the most expensive
items. A lot of multinational hypermarkets have appeared, which sell a lot of things cheaper
than smaller shops.
 Nowadays there are several ways of shopping. What you choose it depends on what
you want to buy. In recent years, shopping has become the most common way for people
in Western societies to acquire food. Instead of growing their own vegetables, meats, or
grains, or baking their own bread, people visit their local supermarkets, delis corner shops,
or food markets to acquire foodstuffs, increasingly also shopping online. My mother/father
does our family’s everyday shopping, and I usually go with her/him. We are regular
customers at the nearby supermarkets so we are served very politely. Supermarkets sell
almost everything that a family needs. I walk about the shop filling my plastic basket from
the shelves. The goods are tidily arranged on trays and long shelves on which the various
prices are clearly marked or the good themselves are labelled.
People use services, like hairdresser, plumber, etc. Postal services are the most
popular and essential services in our world. The Post Office maintains a national
network of post office branches, post boxes, mail centres, and a fleet of vehicles for
transporting mail. It employs a large workforce to collect, sort, handle and deliver mail.
Traditional facilities offered by the Post Office: Letters, postcards, telegrams, media mail
and parcels can be sent inland and abroad. Mail is collected from pillar boxes and post
offices, is prepared for delivery, and is delivered by postmen. Postal rates depend on the
distance, weight and shape of your mail and the required add-on service. Standard mail
can be sent at uniform charges. Other postal services: post code and address databases,
delivery of newspapers, magazines, postage and packaging supplies, financial services
(money orders, foreign currency, insurance, loans, savings, investment) and others (licence
and passport applications, government forms, lottery, gifts, phone cards).The Post Office
faces strong competition from banks, the Internet and private postal businesses and it
has to take significant measures to keep pace with competition, by focussing on cost-
effectiveness and modernisation.

Consumer society:

We live in a trowaway society. People throw away clothes that are in good condition but out
of fashion. The technological progress is so fast that a few months after you buy a new
computer, it becomes obsolete and is worth a fragment of its original value. Ethical
shopping is a controversial issue nowadays. Many people want to know more about the
products they buy. They want to know how people, animals and our planet are treated
when food, drinks and clothes are produced.
Advertising is a crucial element of business and shopping. Since the 20th century,
with the invention of the radio, television and the Internet, and in conjunction with
explosive global economic growth, advertising has become omnipresent. In general,
adversiting makes use of two closely connected human feelings – desires and fears.
Advertisers try to convince people (by using gimmicks) that particular products can
enhance their lifestyles. Advertisers also send the message that purchasing products are
solutions to one’s worries. Advertising messages, which range in complexity from simply
notices to complex advertising campaigns, reach the public through numerous channels:
advertising materials are mailed, delivered, exhibited, broadcast and digitalised in order to
attract prospective buyers.
Advertising itself generates employment and provides a great career opportunity for
the creative. Adverts create consumer awareness. In developed countries advertising is
tightly regulated. Advertisements help finance the media. Commercial TV and radio
industries depend on ads.

Social conventions, manners

Social norms, the informal rules that govern behavior in groups and societies. Like a
grammar, a system of norms specifies what is acceptable and what is not in a society or
group.  If norms can thrive and spread, they can also die out.  Some well-known conventions:
Give up your seat on public transportation to the elderly or those with children. When eating,
keep your fork in your left hand and your knife in your right. When entering into somewhere,
greet who have been inside. There are some eternal norms which are important for me, for
example……… In Hungary it is a tradition to use different greetings in different
companions, which is different from English. We say Csókolom or Jó napot kívánok
those person who are older, un-known, or they have higher rank, such as our teacher.
We use Szia with informal companion, with our family, friends or classmates. Several
years ago it was a tradition to say Csókolom to my parents, my gradfather used it when he
called their parents. I consider Csókolom is outdated in family context.

Social problems

Equal rights: The notion of a homogenous society is a fiction: there is no country without
people whose language, culture or both are different from those of the majority. Looking
at it from a different perspective, minority can refer to a group of people in a society who,
even though may constitute the majority of the population, are disadvantaged in terms
of their entitlements, rights and opportunities. Viewed from this angle, women in many
countries represent a minority who do not enjoy equal rights with their male
counterparts. The ratio of minorities in European countries varies. The proportion of
people with immigrant background is very high in Germany, about one-fifth of the
population. The largest minority in Hungary are the Romani people whose
number is estimated between 500 thousands and a million. Contrary to popular belief, the
Roma have been living in Hungary for centuries. Despite this and the fact that they comprise
the biggest ethnic group, the integration of the Romani people has been fraught with
problems. Roma people are overrepresented among those who live in extreme poverty, and
the rate of unemployment is also very high among them. Fewer Roma children finish
primary school than children from non-Roma families. Segregation in educational
institutions and the high percentage of Roma children in special needs schools and
classes are alarming, and present a particular cause for concern.

Homelessness: It is a grave problem in big cities. The homeless population is largely made up
of adult men. People who live on the street are the most disadvantaged citizens, both
economically and socially. They are often victims of circumstances. Causes of
homelessness: poverty, lack of low-income private accomodation, mental health, alcohol
or drug problems, lack of education. Being homeless is a humiliating condition which
disintegrates personality and damages mental and physical health. Both public and private
institutions (social workers, local councils, charity organisations) try to relieve the misery
of the homeless. Solutions to homelessness must be politically driven, since they require
increased government funding.

Unemployment: An unemployed person is someone who belongs to the working age

populace, is registered as unemployed, actively seeks a job but cannot find one, is available
and able to start work. Unemployment is measured by the unemployment rate. Certain
groups within the workforce are at greater risk of losing their jobs:

- workers in traditional indrustries

- People in their 40s and 50s
- Young people after leaving school
- discriminated people against groups on the basis of sex, race, religion or national
origin
 - people with disabilities or health problems

Unemployment is a sensitive economic, political, public and personal issue. The

unemployed may feel guilty about being out of work even if it is not their fault. They feel
they are useless and burden on the state. High unemployment is expensive for the state,
especially for the taxpayer, because the government has to finance a variety of social
security schemes and projects to manage unemployment. Governments take „New Deal”
measures, usually targeted to help people get back to work. These action programmes try to
make the labour market more flexible, able to better adapt to changes:

- job centres give people advice and help them find a job.
- The state provides jobs by launching public jobs.
- Training programmes help unemployed to gain qualifications

Poverty:. It is exists in both the developing and developed world but its nature in industrial
countries differs widely from conditions of the poor in the Third World. Most developing
countries are subject to absolute poverty. They suffer and die from lack of basic human
needs: food, clothing, shelter, clean water and health services. They typical form of
poverty in developed countries is relative poverty. Certain groups of society have less than
the others. Relative poverty means that a family’s income is less than half of the average
income. Extreme poverty in wealthy countries applies to those whose income falls below
one-half of the threshold (poverty line). Common indicators of poverty:

- GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and GNP (Gross National Product)

- infant mortality figures, birth and death rates, life expentancy
- literacy rates and the number of children leaving school without qualifications
- the rate of unemployment and the number of homeless
- the number of people earning less than the minimum wage
- the rate of juvenile delinquency

Sigificant causes of poverty:

- overpopulation
- the state of economy
- lack of education and employment
- environmental problems
 - political instability and wars
- demographic trends based on age, race, family status and geographical location

The effects of poverty: malnutrition, starvation, death, infectious diseases, high rates of
suicide and alcoholism, exploitation of women and children, crime and violence.