Is poverty a form of deviance or a source of deviance? Discuss.

Poverty is a source of deviance.

Explanation:

Poverty is characterized by the lack of economic resources to face the different expenses involved in leading a decent life in a capitalist system, such as that which exists in the vast majority of the civilized world. Thus, those who do not have enough money to satisfy their needs are considered poor.

Therefore, this lack of resources and the needs that arise from it (lack of decent housing, healthy food, medical assistance, etc.) can give rise to different acts whose objective is to get money from quick and easy way to meet those needs. Thus, poverty becomes the source of many behavioral deviations (such as robbery) with the aim of satisfying those needs, although not legally and morally correct.