The Poverty Debate: Politics and the Poor in America

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A review of research and arguments concerning poverty in the United States, citing and summarising the views of influential conservative thinkers and providing evidence to defeat their arguments. While conservative writers have traditionally presented the poor as lazy and unfortunate offshoots of a generally prosperous nation, Burton aims to demonstrate that poverty in America is widespread and that it is not caused by lack of ambition. The text begins with an overview of the extent of poverty in America, including an examination of how poverty is defined and measured. Burton then analyses the cultural characteristics of the poor, the homeless, and the underclass. He then turns his attention to welfare, workfare, and the generation of jobs. A final set of chapters probes more deeply into the political dimension of poverty and the role of government in alleviating it. Throughout the study, Burton refers to numerous influential works by conservative authors, and he addresses their shortcomings. An extensive bibliography adds to the usefulness of the text.

Reviews

its attempt to summarize a complex field will be useful to students and researchers alike.-Natural Resources and Environmental Administration
The book should be very useful to anyone who wishes a quick review of poverty literature, or an introduction to the field of poverty. It would also be useful to anyone who wanted a primer of points to prepare a presentation or debate on poverty issues, mainly from the liberal perspective. It would be very useful as a supplementary text in a class on social stratification. It would also be of interest to classes in the area of social work and perhaps urban studies. The writing is, for the most part, quite readable, and should pose little problem for undergraduates. The discussions are short enough that assigning this reading would not be overly burdensome to students. Given its extensive bibliography the book would be useful at the graduate level as well.-The Great Plains Sociologist
"its attempt to summarize a complex field will be useful to students and researchers alike."-Natural Resources and Environmental Administration
"The book should be very useful to anyone who wishes a quick review of poverty literature, or an introduction to the field of poverty. It would also be useful to anyone who wanted a primer of points to prepare a presentation or debate on poverty issues, mainly from the liberal perspective. It would be very useful as a supplementary text in a class on social stratification. It would also be of interest to classes in the area of social work and perhaps urban studies. The writing is, for the most part, quite readable, and should pose little problem for undergraduates. The discussions are short enough that assigning this reading would not be overly burdensome to students. Given its extensive bibliography the book would be useful at the graduate level as well."-The Great Plains Sociologist

Author Bio

C. EMORY BURTON is Associate Professor of Sociology at Richland Community College. He has authored chapters for several textbooks and has published articles in Teaching Sociology and the Journal of Nursing Administration.