Overview

Most Americans persist in believing that poverty results primarily from individual deficiencies: people are poor because they lack intelligence, determination, and skills. In opposition to this dominant, individualistic view, Poverty and Power proposes that American poverty is a structural problem, resulting from the failings of the political economy, not the failings of the poor. In Poverty and Power Edward Royce argues that the current poverty problem originates from changes in the larger economic, political and cultural landscape and from a corresponding shift in the balance of power that has worked to the advantage of business over labor.

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9780742564442

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Reviews

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.--Ellen Reese Reese

Poverty and Power is the single most comprehensive exploration of structural inequality I have ever read. Brilliantly conceived, clearly written, and exhaustively documented, Ed Royce has produced a book that systematically excoriates our prevailing belief that poverty and inequality result from individuals' bad decisions or bad personal attributes. Poverty and Power will quickly become the go to book in undergraduate classes, graduate seminars, and (hopefully) policy debates.--Rick Eckstein

Author Information

Edward Royce is associate professor of sociology at Rollins College.

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