The poor form a social stratum united by society’s attitude, not by interaction

Evidence

It is only from the moment they are assisted—perhaps already when their total situation would normally require assistance, even though it has not yet been given—that they become part of a group characterized by poverty. This group does not remain united by interaction among its members, but by the collective attitude which society as a whole adopts toward it. — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 446

Categorization

• SEED: The idea that a group is constituted by observers’ collective attitude rather than internal interaction could seed an essay on how categories like ‘flâneur,’ ‘stranger,’ or ‘the poor’ are imposed from outside.
• XREF: connects to: Society aids the poor to neutralize a threat, not to help them — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 410; The poor resemble strangers in being both outside and constitutive of the group — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 417; The poor stand outside the group as a form of being inside — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 435 (+7 more)

Related

• The poor resemble strangers in being both outside and constitutive of the group (similarity 0.85)
• The poor stand outside the group as a form of being inside (similarity 0.84)
• Sociological poverty is defined by receiving assistance, not lacking means (similarity 0.80)
• Poverty is defined by social reaction, not by material deficiency (similarity 0.80)
• Society aids the poor to neutralize a threat, not to help them (similarity 0.79)
• Oppressed persons first grasp their shared condition as being looked at from outside. (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• Antillean inferiority is governed by a social fiction rather than a personal one #corroborates (0.60)
• Antillean inferiority is social, not individual, because all Antilleans share it #expands (0.60) — Frantz Fanon, Constance Farrington, Black skin, white masks, 758
• People from impoverished conditions do not always recognize their poverty. #complicates (0.50) — Crews, Harry, A childhood the biography of a place, 21