The institutional and systemic manifestation of aporophobia—the policies, laws, and social norms designed to punish, exclude, and marginalize poor people. It is the belief system codified into action: that poverty is a contagion to be contained, not a condition to be alleviated; that the poor are a drain on society rather than its most vulnerable members. This bigotry is evident in voter ID laws that disenfranchise the poor, cash bail systems that jail people for poverty, "poor doors" in housing developments, and the underfunding of public schools in low-income districts. It is a structural hostility that blames individuals for systemic outcomes.
Example: A state legislature drastically cuts funding for public transportation in urban centers while increasing subsidies for suburban highways. When challenged, a legislator states, "People who use buses don't pay much in taxes anyway. Let them figure it out." This is aporophobic bigotry: it actively dismantles the infrastructure of mobility for the poor (who rely on buses to get to work) while investing in infrastructure for the affluent, viewing the economic contributions and needs of the poor as negligible and unworthy of public investment. It is policy as punishment for being poor.
by Dumuabzu January 25, 2026
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