Poverty And Political Culture

The rise of industrial capitalism in nineteenth-century Europe brought with it new "social questions" pauperism, vagabondage, unemployment, and working-class suffering in general. Poverty and Political Culture examines the unique ways in which these two profoundly different societies negotiated those issues.

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When Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil's Workers' Party soared to power in 2003, he promised to end hunger in the nation. In a vivid ethnography with an innovative approach to Brazilian politics, Aaron Ansell assesses President Lula's flagship antipoverty program, Zero Hunger (Fome Zero), focusing on its rollout among agricultural workers in the poor northeastern state of Piaui. Linking the administration's fight against poverty to a more subtle effort to change the region's political culture, Ansell rethinks the nature of patronage and provides a novel perspective on the state under Workers' Party rule. Aiming to strengthen democratic processes, frontline officials attempted to dismantle the long-standing patron-client relationships--Ansell identifies them as "intimate hierarchies--that bound poor people to local elites. Illuminating the symbolic techniques by which officials attempted to influence Zero Hunger beneficiaries' attitudes toward power, class, history, and ethnic identity, Ansell shows how the assault on patronage increased political awareness but also confused and alienated the program's participants. He suggests that, instead of condemning patronage, policymakers should harness the emotional energy of intimate hierarchies to better facilitate the participation of all citizens in political and economic development.

Papers from a symposium of the American Anthropological Association examining life styles, education, language and other characteristics of the underpriviliged.

How can you assess the effects of existing government policies on families? Are there ways to predict the effects of future policies upon the family? Challenging the view that governmental social programs have been detrimental to family life, Zimmerman provides empirical evidence to show that attitudes toward the governments′ role in relation to families are associated with the political cultures of different states. She also illustrates the relationship between states′ political cultures and the kinds of family policies states enact. Important guidelines are suggested to aid in the development of a policy agenda that will enhance the well-being of individuals and families, regardless of where they live. Family Policies and Family Well-Being examines findings from several independent but related undertakings including: a survey of family professionals living in states with different political cultures; an analysis of family legislation enacted by three states with different political cultures; and an examination of the relationships between states′ policy approaches to families and individual and family well-being and the role of political culture. Exercises are provided to encourage the reader to carefully scrutinize the main issues. Exploring the connections between family policies, individual and family well being, and political culture, this volume is important reading for professionals and students in social work, political science, public policy, family studies, and public administration. "Timely, thought-provoking, well-organized, and clearly written in an engaging and upbeat style. . . . The strength of the book lies in its versatility. It can be used in both undergraduate and graduate courses in politics, policy, and research methods. It can also serve as a model, or certainly as point of reference, for both novice and experienced researchers. Each chapter ends with a series of questions and exercises, and the appendixes include a glossary of terms (always a good idea), a chart of all 50 states categorized according to their respective political cultures, and a ready-made survey for anyone wishing to replicate Zimmerman′s study." --Family Relations "This . . . important book follows earlier work by the author . . . who is increasingly recognized as an expert in family policy. . . . [It] is highly recommended for professionals and scholars in the family field, and for upperclass and graduate students. Among its assets are the exercises at the end of each chapter which encourage careful scrutiny of the issues raised." --Journal of Marriage and the Family "Zimmerman is highly qualified to assess the subject of family policies and family well-being. Her ambitious study defines family policies as everything governments do that affect families. Zimmerman examines explicit and implicit policies, intentional and unintentional consequences, direct and indirect effects, and manifest and latent family effects. . . . Zimmerman explores the relationship between political culture and marital ties, teenage births, poverty, suicide rates, and welfare expenditures at a state level. The writing style is easy to read. There is a list of references and a glossary of terms used in the text. Advanced undergraduates." --Choice "The strength of this book lies in its versatility. It can be used in both undergraduate and undergraduate courses in politics, policy, and research methods. It can also serve as a model, or certainly as point of reference, for both novice and experienced researchers. Each chapter ends with a series of questions and exercises, and the appendices include a glossary of terms (always a good idea), a chart of all 50 states categorized according to their respective political cultures, and a ready-made survey for anyone wishing to replicate Zimmerman′s study." --Family Relations "The book will be most useful for readers interested in the connection between government and its family policies and programs. . . . Zimmerman makes the book appealing by including a glossary of terms and numerous tables, using current examples, providing relevant exercises, writing the book in first person, and explaining how the book can be used to understand the political culture of one′s own community." --Canadian Home Economics Journal

In Wealth, Poverty, and Politics, Thomas Sowell, one of the foremost conservative public intellectuals in this country, argues that political and ideological struggles have led to dangerous confusion about income inequality in America. Pundits and politically motivated economists trumpet ambiguous statistics and sensational theories while ignoring the true determinant of income inequality: the production of wealth. We cannot properly understand inequality if we focus exclusively on the distribution of wealth and ignore wealth production factors such as geography, demography, and culture. Sowell contends that liberals have a particular interest in misreading the data and chastises them for using income inequality as an argument for the welfare state. Refuting Thomas Piketty, Paul Krugman, and others on the left, Sowell draws on accurate empirical data to show that the inequality is not nearly as extreme or sensational as we have been led to believe. Transcending partisanship through a careful examination of data, Wealth, Poverty, and Politics reveals the truth about the most explosive political issue of our time.

Led by Amartya Sen, Mary Douglas, and Arjun Appadurai, the distinguished anthropologists and economists in this book forcefully argue that culture is central to development, and present a framework for incorporating culture into development discourse. For further information on the book and related essays, please visit www.cultureandpublicaction.org.

Poverty is a serious problem in the United States, more so than commonly imagined, and more so than in other industrialized nations. Most Americans adhere to an individualistic perspective: they believe poverty is largely the result of people being deficient in intelligence, determination, education, and other personal traits. Poverty and Power, Fourth Edition challenges this viewpoint, arguing that poverty arises from the workings of four key structural systems—the economic, the political, the cultural, and the social—and ten obstacles to economic justice, including unaffordable housing, inaccessible health care, and racial and gender discrimination. The author argues that a renewed war on poverty can be successful, but only through a popular movement to bring about significant change in the workings of American economic, political, and cultural institutions. New to this Edition Enhanced conversation on why the cultural theory of poverty has such a strong appeal to the American public develops students’ critical thinking skills (Chapter 3) New segment on the influence of job seekers’ physical appearance on hiring decisions showing that success is not simply a matter of education, skills, and training (Chapter 4) New data on the “job availability problem” explains in detail why the monthly headline unemployment number is misleading, and new content on the 2021 upsurge of quits on the part of American workers portrays efforts on the part of ordinary people to improve their lives (Chapter 5) New content on how corporations have become increasingly assertive political players explores the dramatic increase in corporate lobbying efforts, the rise of billionaire political activists, and the creation of a powerful conservative political infrastructure in the United States (Chapter 6) Greater attention to racially segregated and resource-deprived Black communities covers the extraordinary hardships experienced by the residents of these areas, while a new section on the geographical isolation of the affluent discusses how isolation affects wealthy people’s beliefs and perceptions about poverty and what policies they deem acceptable (Chapter 8)