While researching poverty and homelessness in America, I identified a term that relates to the attitude or belief that the poor are responsible for their unfortunate situations.
The term aporophobia was created to describe negative attitudes or feelings some people have about the poor. It is derived from the Greek word “Aporos” (without resources, poor, and fear).
In the 1990s, the term was popularized by Spanish philosopher Adela Cortina. She coined the term to distinguish it from xenophobia, highlighting that aporophobia specifically targets poverty and the poor.
Descriptors
- Antipathy, contempt, fear, indigent, aversion, and hatred. feelings include disgust, hostility, discrimination, and prejudice.
- Elitism, classism, caste, social cleansing, white flight, white supremacy, superiority, and wealth.
History
An aporophobic attitude or mentality had its origins since the beginning of time. In America, the term can be traced back to our Founding Fathers. An elite group of white men wrote the Declaration of Independence that excluded those that weren’t wealthy or land owners. The group included the poor, women, people of color, and native Americans… in essence the poor.
The belief that a small group of men should have influence and control over those that were less fortunate has “trickled down” to the present.
Safety Net Programs
The origin of welfare or safety net programs is a prime example. In 1935, President Roosevelt created the Social Security Act which led to a number of other programs including Medicare, Medicaid, SNAP, TANF, and most recently the Affordable Care Act.
The purpose of the programs is to provide resources and support for individuals and
families who are poor that include the homeless.
Despite the original intent, safety net programs have not reduced or ended poverty or homelessness in America. The current belief that waste, fraud, and abuse (WFA) among poor recipients (families and children, disabled, veterans, teens, unaccompanied youth, etc.) take advantage of the system, won’t work, and don’t need safety net program support.
Research indicates that between 3% and 7% of the (WFA) can be attributed to mismanagement by federal and state governments, hospitals and doctor orders for unneeded tests and lab work, and local nonprofit errors by agencies and organizations. Currently, the Trump administration’s approach to correcting the problem is to defund programs and enact bills, laws, and executive orders that penalize the poor and homeless.
Most recently, the Trump administration has cut or defunded safety net programs like Medicaid, SNAP, Energy, and Education resources/services, personnel, and funds that the poor are heavily dependent upon.
Forced Encampment Destruction
The administration has imposed restrictions toward the homeless including the destruction of city encampments, forced detainment, fines, and incarceration when occupying the streets.
Forced Institutionalization
Additionally, President Trump signed an executive order to combat homelessness by encouraging local governments to place the homeless in long-term institutional settings without their consent to “restore public order.”
The administration believes that forced institutionalization of the homeless, who are mentally ill, is the solution to making cities safer.
Years of research indicates that 67% of the homeless population has mental health issues. The severity of those conditions range between less severe to more severe. Many homeless individuals and families are not mentally ill, drug addicted, or alcoholics. They can’t afford housing!
To group all the homeless into one or more of these categories is wrong. Just because individuals and families are poor and have no housing is not a good reason for institutionalization.
Shades of the Past
- Native Americans confined to reservations.
- Blacks forced into slavery.
- Jews held in concentration camps.
- Japanese relocated and incarcerated in concentration camps.
Today
- Poor People lose health care (Medicaid) and food stamps (SNAP).
- Homeless people lose encampments, are detained, fined, and forced into shelters.
- Homeless people are institutionalized (psychiatric hospitals, treatment centers)
Civil Commitment
Involuntary “civil commitment” is the process in which a judge, or someone else acting in a judicial capacity, orders a person to be admitted to a psychiatric hospital or a supervised outpatient treatment facility without their consent.
The criteria for institutionalization includes mental illness and substance abuse issues that pose a danger to themselves or others.
The history of ”civil commitment” began during the 1960s when people with mental health issues were thrown into jails for vagrancy alongside criminals. Those most affected by civil commitment include the disabled, LGBTQ+ people, and people of color.
The standards that states had to follow to commit someone had little legal oversight. Since then, there’s been a push toward rehabilitative treatment rather than incarceration.
The aporophobia has reared its ugly head recently has captured the minds of government officials and the general public is no different than racism and sexism, which are illegal. Feelings and beliefs that poor and homeless individuals and families/children should be placed illegally.
The etiology of aporophobia is complex and not fully understood, but it is generally believed to be a combination of genetic, psychological, and environmental factors. Genetic predispositions include anxiety and panic disorders, and heritability. Psychological factors include panic disorder, anxiety sensitivity, and personal traits. Environmental factors include adverse childhood experiences, traumatic events, stressful life events, and chronic stress.
Aporophobic Prejudice
- Neurological and social origins, and its widespread consequences, from hate crimes to the threat of democracy.
- Exclusion, stigmatization and humiliation of the poor cuts across xenophobia, racism, antisemitism, and other prejudices.
- Rejection of migrants not because of their origin, race, or ethnicity but because they seem to bring problems while offering nothing of value, don’t benefit the nation, and make no contribution. Communities need to create dignity, generosity, and compassion for all.
- A class that is undeserving and lacks warmth.
- Lazy and plastic
- No skills
- Not economically self-sufficient
CALL TO ACTION:
- Community creation of dignity, generosity, and compassion for all.
- Overcome moral and political disaster through education and democratic institutions.
- Choose to eradicate aporophobia.
- Eliminate poverty and inequality through economic laws, policies, and programs
SOURCES:
- American Psychological Association, 2022
- www.axios.com, 7/25/2025
- Cortina, Adela, Aporophobia, Why We Reject The Poor Instead of Helping Them, Princeton University Press, 2022
- www.pivton.edu, 2025
- www.space.com, 2022