Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Pages: 378
•
Trim: 6 x 9
978-1-5381-1046-1 • eBook • June 2018 • $42.50 • (£33.00)
Edward Royce is professor emeritus of sociology at Rollins College where he was a recipient of the Cornell Distinguished Faculty Award. He is the author of The Origins of Southern Sharecropping and Classical Social Theory and Modern Society.
Preface to the third edition
Acknowledgments
1. Poverty as a Social Problem
Part I: Individualistic Theories of Poverty and Inequality
2. The Biogenetic Theory of Poverty and Inequality
3. The Cultural Theory of Poverty and Inequality
4. The Human Capital Theory of Poverty and Inequality
Part II: A Structural Perspective on Poverty—Four Systems
5. The Economic System and Poverty
6. The Political System and Poverty
7. The Cultural System and Poverty
8. The Social System and Poverty
Part III: A Structural Perspective on Poverty—Ten Obstacles
9. Structural Obstacles and the Persistence of Poverty (Part I)
10. Structural Obstacles and the Persistence of Poverty (Part II)
11. Conclusion
Appendix: The Individualistic Perspective and the Structural Perspective
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index
About the author
Clear, accessible, and powerfully argued, Poverty and Power offers readers a deeply informed exploration of how we tend to explain poverty in the United States and how those dominant explanations differ from what we know about the reality of being poor in America. There may be no better single-volume introduction to the issue than this compelling and comprehensive book.
— Stephen Pimpare, Casey School of Public Policy, University of New Hampshire
At a time when America is facing a crisis of inequality and rising poverty, Edward Royce's Poverty and Power is a critical guide to understanding the true causes of economic hardship in our country and to avoiding falling for the false and misleading ideas about poverty that are so popular in the mass media. Poverty is a problem created by political power—Royce shows how it's done, and how it can be undone.
— Gordon Lafer, Professor, University of Oregon
Edward Royce’s Poverty and Power provides a comprehensive look at the reasons why poverty persists in the United States and why it is so often taken for granted by many Americans. Royce's compelling argument identifies the cause of poverty as rooted in inequalities in power and politics and shows the inadequacies of individualistic, cultural, and human capital theories of poverty. (Previous Edition Praise)
— Ellen Reese, University of California, Riverside
This updated edition of Poverty and Power remains the single most comprehensive exploration of structural inequality I have ever read. The book brilliantly excoriates our prevailing belief that poverty and inequality result from individuals' poor decisions or bad personal attributes. For my colleagues, Poverty and Power has become the 'go-to book' for undergraduate and graduate classes that examine the economic, cultural, political, and social layers of systemic inequality. (Previous Edition Praise)
— Rick Eckstein, Villanova University
- Features new material on the 2016 elections, the current political climate, and the growing partisan divide
Includes new research and updated data on the weakening of the safety net, the political marginalization of the poor, unemployment and job availability, and more- Provides an up-to-date and comprehensive overview of the literature on poverty
- Offers a big picture perspective on poverty that analyzes inequality against larger changes in American society in recent decades
Compares individualistic and structural perspectives on poverty throughout to highlight assumptions and implications of eachWritten in an accessible, student-friendly style- Filled with provocative arguments and real-life examples to stimulate discussion