Barriers to self-sufficiency are the ways in which people do not have access to the tools needed for self-sufficiency. Barriers include: 1. Unavailability of Resources. Resources (employment, capital, etc.) may be unavailable in sufficient quantity to certain groups; opportunities might be limited.

Certain tools might be designed with the values and assumptions of one segment of society, but not others. To be useful, a tool must be appropriate to the culture of the group. Some available tools are not useful to various groups (e.g., most forms of public transportation are not useful to the “mobility-impaired” group of handicapped). Or, use of a given resource may be disliked or distasteful to certain groups, and may run counter to its own values.

2. Inaccessibility of Resources. If available, resources could still be inaccessible to certain groups, because of cost, poor design, locale or distance, or lack of publicity.

Tools may be made available selectively, to only the “deserving” of the group. Or they may be rationed in such little quantity as to preclude the full group’s access or participation.

The personal energy needed to develop such resources as self-respect, health, or incentive may have been diverted by an early injury (broken home, domestic abuse, retardation, harmful labeling) that has not been reversed. This can make for further stunted development, societal isolation and deprivation, which is inherently disadvantaging.

Also, the energy needed to develop or pursue other resources, such as education, information, or employment, may be unavailable due to other demands, such as raising a family or pursuing subsistence capital.

3. Society’s Regard for a Group. Disadvantaged groups are unappreciated, devalued, or derided by the larger society. If a group is seen as not being able to offer much, little is offered to it.

Little may be known by other segments of society of the disadvantagement faced by a particular group. Some groups are invisible to the public. Some groups may be deliberately kept from view. There may be little public discussion of the group.

Some groups exist as negative stereotypes to other segments of society. Negative stereotypes of a group may be reinforced by the media, the schools, other institutions, and by other segments of society as well.

The contributions and culture of sole groups may be misunderstood, or held in contempt. The immediate plight of a group may be misunderstood or minimized.

Some groups have been undervalued and derided as matters of longstanding and institutionalized tradition. The disadvantagement of one group may be serving as advantagement to others. Some groups may be harassed or persecuted without protection by established authorities. There may be little support among advantaged groups for removing the barriers and making resources available.

4. Government Practices. Institutionalized responses (government, programs, agencies, systems) to the plight of certain groups may be inadequate or counterproductive.

There may be too few programs available, or they may be under-funded or otherwise inadequate.

Legislation may protect or assist a group, but the law may not be enforced, or the implementation effort may be insufficient.

The systems for treating unemployment, poverty, mental illness, and other social ills contain too many disincentives for becoming self-sufficient. Certain practices encourage dependency, and create a vicious cycle that robs people of needed vitality. Certain practices may inadvertently produce large negative side effects that create further disadvantage.

Institutional responses may be so bureaucratized or clumsy as to limit their value. The system may be working more for the people within it than for the people for whom the response is intended. Those working within the system may be uninformed, uncommitted, or ineffective.

5. Corporate Practices. The labor or other forms of contribution, of some groups may be undervalued in the marketplace.

If a group’s labor is undervalued, the group receives too little capital and retains its disadvantage. With undervaluation, there is greater opportunity for exploitation, harassment, and other forms of inequitable treatment.

Large corporations can easily overwhelm, or ignore, small or local economies, effectively limiting the availability of certain resources, particularly capital, employment, and incentive.

6. Conditions of the Group. Certain features of the disadvantaged group itself may make it hard to access needed tools.

For some groups to use the particular tools offered them by the larger society would mean contradicting their own values or culture; these tools may be regarded as not helpful, or not a part of their own definition of self-sufficiency.

Individuals disadvantaged by a particular situation may not be organized as a group. Redressing the system, promoting effective leadership from within, or even appealing for support requires organization of a group, and is already a few steps removed from total disadvantagement.