Pobreza e sociabilidade: vivendo por um fio

Abstract

The purpose of this work is to understand how, within the social place they occupy, poor urban workers families define priorities, personal and familiar projects and give a meaning to their existence and to the world. The empirical reference are residents of Mandacaru quarter, in João Pessoa, Paraíba. A definition for poverty nowadays was sought through the reading of classic and contemporary scholars. The theoretical referent that was chosen is based on Amartya Sen s ideas who considers that poverty must be analysed not only as an income issue, but as a loss of essential liberties someone has the right to esteem worthwhile to himself. According to this point of view, poverty must be seen as deprivation of fundamental capacities. To treat the study focused on the survival of the poor families that were interviewed, it was necessary to use other concepts, that could explain poverty, like sociability (social links and breaks). The results of the research testified the importance of links (family, relatives, neighbours, religious institutions, quarter associations) in the social environment of the surveyed people, through relations of solidarity and gift, when they face precarious situations. It may be concluded that this occurs mainly in a context of equal status and in a contingent way, without leading to an improvement of living conditions, but as a means of sticking together against poverty