[Causes and outward forms of poverty in old age (author's transl)].

In the Federal Rupublic nearly 20% of the elderly people live on the edge of below the property-line, which is well-marked by public assistance. In spite of legal claims 75% of the needy elderly do not explore all possible avenues. The ascertainment of this high percentage which had been never estimated exactly-about which, hitherto, impressionistic or opportunistic declarations have been made rather than reliable assertions-is a result of a representative empirical research. The authors have conducted structured interviews, analysis of official files and explorative interviews with old people and with those who are, in a broad sense, competent regarding their need. The analysis of the old peoples' social biographies significantly showed the invariance regarding the class the necessitous belong to; generally workers or people of the farming section either become or remain poor. Deficient vocational education is the beginning of a lifelong outstanding external determination. Their non-problematical replaceability at work surrenders them to the enterpreneur's calculation. When growing older they often endure professional depreciation and financial reduction. After they have retired, need encreases. Individual failure is not the cause for poverty, however the belonging to the working-classes; all those belonging to these classes are potentially poor, due to their replaceability and exchangeability at work. At the lower end of the class-hierarchy potential poverty changes into actual poverty. Causative regarding formation of these classes is the fact, that the material possibilities of the social production cannot be used by the actual producers. The causes for poverty which reproduces itself always within the same classes can't be removed by legal means which can only relief poverty.