Paul Farmer: Inequality

Paul Farmer uses the word ‘destitute’ to describe the state of those who are facing inequalities. Farmer describes key points to what leads someone into falling in the category of destitute sick due to social detriments; these are social, economic and historical factors (Farmer, 219). Living in poverty is a vicious cycle as it reduces the chances of being able to educate yourself, ultimately leading to a better job that would break the cycle of poverty. Farmer describes the destitute sick as “poor and defenceless” due to structural violence (Farmer, 231). How does this show that social detriments are what will deem you impoverished or not? Farmer uses his research from a Russian prison to show the fact that these men are for the most part all suffering from tuberculosis (Farmer, 234). Although these men were imprisoned for a wrongdoing this does not mean that they should be treated differently regarding their health. The economic and social factors are clearly shown in his writing, as the poor are usually the ones in …show more content…
There is now two detrimental factors here; being in prison and being poor however, these factors are in no way a “get out of jail free card” from the government to not give these men a chance for survival