Poverty, Class, and Inequality Division
2007
E. Brooke Kelly and Anne Statham•
Vision of a Just World:
A just world is one in which all people are allowed to contribute to the fullest extent of their abilities, and goods and services are distributed to people according to their needs. In this world individuals, communities, and nations acknowledge and are aware of the implications of their actions for others and for the next generation. Accordingly, loyalties rest with human beings, human welfare, and sustainability over profit; those in poverty are not demonized or blamed for their circumstances; and workers are paid a living wage. Businesses are held accountable and seek to act in a responsible manner that considers the common good and sustainability. In a just world, individuals, communities, and nations think and act globally and collectively about standards for workers, working conditions, wages, poverty, nutrition, and human welfare. Many different voices are heard and appreciated.
The Poverty, Class, and Inequalities (PCI) division of SSSP (the Society for the Study of Social Problems) can contribute to the creation of such a just world by exposing many of the social problems that stand in its way: inequitable distribution of wealth, availability of viable employment, wages, debt, downward mobility, child poverty, the feminization of poverty, homelessness and housing issues, the social distance and alienation of people from each other, and the ways race and gender inequalities intersect with social class systems. By generating, circulating, and evaluating current research and theorizing about the causes and extent of poverty and inequalities, this section of SSSP seeks to expose and ameliorate these problems. However, lessening problems is not enough. Revealing the structures that contribute to and sustain inequalities and poverty as well as the complexities and nuances of poverty are crucial steps in the struggle to create a just world.
In our recent reflections in writing this pamphlet, the authors have come to realize the extent to which theorizing and practice aimed at addressing and/or ameliorating poverty, class, and inequality is becoming increasingly intertwined with the goals of many other divisions and social problems, such as the environment, health and well-being, globalization, race, and gender. These social problems have always been intertwined, but current contexts and theorizing have made their intersections more apparent and pressing. Just as feminist scholars and activists have demonstrated that one cannot isolate gender (or class) alone, but must consider the extent to which gender, race, class, and other axes of inequality and difference intersect and overlap in shaping the experiences of individuals, communities, activists, and scholars are increasingly acknowledging connections between multiple social problems. One example is the intersection of poverty, health, and environment realized in movements addressing the concentration of environmental pollution in low-income areas (Bullard 1990, 2007). Thus, efforts to create a just and sustainable world increasingly address multiple issues or problems simultaneously.
*E. Brooke Kelly, Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, University of North Carolina—Pembroke, brooke.kelly@uncp.edu. Anne Statham, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Wisconsin at Parkside, statham@uwp.edu. Although this document includes some feedback from PCI Division members, it is primarily representative of the authors’ views and perspectives.
Demonstrations of Mission and Vision:
In our last entry, the section’s thinking was reflected as being suspicious of “piecemeal” change and Communism implied as the most promising project thus far. Just in four years’ time, the thinking in many quarters has changed considerably. Many of our members are quite cynical about state-sponsored change or mandates of any sort, a feeling that is probably becoming more widespread in the general population, as well. At this point in our history, it is perhaps the small rebellions that seem more promising. There are efforts to usurp the power of the global economy on the global level. An example is the Free Trade movement that attempts to circumvent the siphoning of profits by middle people to give more compensation directly to farmers and craftspeople in developing countries. The efforts around coffee are the most common, but similar efforts are springing up for other commodities and networks to support this work. Also, some countries such as Brazil and Venezuela have broken somewhat from the hold of the U.S. and embarked on new efforts to improve their economies and the distribution of wealth. Cities within these countries have also begun to experiment with citizen participation in policy formation designed to do this. This same trend is now seen in the U.S. where, for example, dozens of cities have taken pledges to address global warming as best they can (in opposition to the stonewalling of our national government), and begun to take steps to enact those pledges. Several entire states have now followed suit. Other urban centers have moved on their own to sponsor economic development projects that have included a good deal of citizen participation and economic justice principles. These efforts have come from urban planning and development efforts that build on the notion of the participation of the disenfranchised. One recent example is Ron Dellums’ election as Mayor of Oakland, California on a platform of creating a “model city” that would provide health care and education for all and a “green” economy that would provide clean, sustainable jobs. An earlier effort was that by Ken Reardon and colleagues in their work in East St. Louis. Participatory Action Research, a movement furthered by such sociologists as Peter Park, has supported much of this work, as has the work on empowerment evaluation developed by Guba and Lincoln and those who have followed in this tradition. The underlying idea in all of these experiments is that by fostering participatory decision-making by those impacted, better programs will be created, more likely to meet the true needs of everyone, more socially just. These efforts follow in the Small Is Beautiful framework set out by E.F.Schumacher decades ago. Perhaps these local rebellions will spur a transformation from the inside out, an issue our section members might explore.
Challenges in Achieving Just World Vision:
Although the Poverty, Class, and Inequality section is the largest section of SSSP, its focus is probably the most taken for granted and is also, perhaps, more challenging to articulate because it is so broad. Examining inequalities at the macro level and focusing on social structures can be overwhelming. Thus, there is a tendency to shy away from structural analyses and focus on individuals to address social problems. Within the U.S., the tendency toward individualism is particularly strong, often preventing us from thinking and acting communally, and seeing that we are all participating in a system that is larger than ourselves. An individualistic orientation may also prevent us from being able to learn from the patterns of the past, such as the historical accumulation of wealth that reinforces and exacerbates inequalities by class and race today (Lui et al. 2006). Thus, revealing and making visible the workings of the stratification systems and the relationship between poverty and wealth remains a challenge. Although we tend to isolate social class from race, gender, and other systems of inequality, in reality these axes intersect to shape our lives and life chances (Collins 1990). Addressing the intersections of many social problems simultaneously may be one of the greatest challenges in addressing inequalities.
References:
Bullard, Robert. 2007. Equity, unnatural man-made disasters, and race: Why environmental justice matters. Research in Social Problems and Public Policy 15, in press.
Bullard, Robert. 1990. Dumping on Dixie: Race, class, and environmental quality. Boulder: Westview Press.
Collins, Patricia Hill. 1990. Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment. New York and London: Routledge.
Guba, E.G. and Y.S. Lincoln. 1987. “The countenances of fourth-generation evaluation: Description judgment and negotiation,” in D.J. Palumbo (ed.) The Politics of Program Evaluation. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.
Lui, Meizhu, Barbara Robles, Betsy Leonard-Wright, Rose Brewer, and Rebecca Adamson. 2006. The Color of Wealth: The Story Behind the U.S. Racial Wealth Divide. New Press.
Park, Peter. 1999. “People, knowledge and change in participatory research,” Management Learning 30:141-157.
Reardon, Kenneth. 1998. “Enhancing the capacity of community-based organizations in East St. Louis,” 17:323-333.
Schumacher, E.F. 1975. Small Is Beautiful. New York: Harper and Row.
Key Articles and Books for Learning More:
The following suggested reading list is for SSSP colleagues and their students who wish to learn more about poverty, class, and inequality. The list is divided by topic and based on recommendations by the division members and the authors.
LOW-WAGE WORK:
Ehrenreich, Barbara. 2001. Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America. New York: Henry Holt and Company.
Mishel, Lawrence, Jared Bernstein, and Heather Boushey. 2003. The State of Working America 2002-2003. Economic Policy Institute. www.epi.org (updated annually).
URBAN POVERTY:
Wilson, William Julius. 1987. The Truly Disadvantaged: The Inner City, The Underclass, and Public Policy. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
RURAL POVERTY:
Duncan, Cynthia M., and Ann R. Tickamyer, 1988, Fall. "Poverty Research and Policy for Rural America. The American Sociologist. 19-3, 243-259.
POVERTY (general):
Corcoran, Mary, Greg J. Duncan, Gerald Gurin, and Patricia Gurin. 1985, Summer. "Myth and Reality: The Causes and Persistence of Poverty,"Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 4 (4), 516-536.
WELFARE:
Piven, Frances Fox and Richard A. Cloward. 1993. Regulating the Poor: The Functions of Public Welfare. New York: Vintage Books.
Hayes, Sharon. 2003. Flat Broke with Children: Women in the Age of Welfare Reform. New York: Oxford University Press.
Rank, Mark Robert. 1994. Living on the Edge: The Realities of Welfare in America. New York: Columbia University Press.
CLASSICS:
Harrington, Michael. 1962. The Other America. Baltimore: Penguin Books.
Lenski, Gerhardt. 1966. Power and Privilege: A Theory of Social Stratification. New York: McGraw-Hill.
GLOBAL/COMPARATIVE:
Alesina, Alberto and Edward L. Glaeser. 2005. Fighting Poverty in the U.S. and Europe Oxford: Oxford University Press.
HOMELESSNESS:
Snow, David A. and Leon Andersen. 1993. Down on Their Luck: A Study of Homeless Street People. Berkeley: University of California Press.
DEBT:
Sullivan, Teresa, Elizabeth Warren, and Jay Westbrook. 2000. The Fragile Middle Class: Americans in Debt. Yale University Press.