Overview
Thinking about Poverty provides a critical understanding of poverty in the global context: how global structures affect people in Australia and the way policy-makers respond. In the midst of waning public interest, the book fills an important gap in the current public discourse on poverty and covers:\n \n the extent of poverty and unprecedented wealth and income inequality across the world, including Australia; \n why neoliberalism remains at the heart of mainstream global discourse and continues to shape public policy; \n how a deregulated and speculative global economy creates massive private and public debt, undermining the real economy, employment and wage growth; \n why neoliberalism still influences national governments to implement further privatisation, deregulation and other neoliberal policies which implement corporate tax cuts, and re-distribution of wealth and income upwards, while at the same time reducing welfare provisions that exacerbate poverty, social disadvantage and inequality; \n the pivotal role and importance of the welfare state to alleviate some of the excesses of neoliberal capitalism; \n individualised and structural theories that try to explain the existence of poverty; \n mainstream and alternative poverty definitions which are not based solely on economic measurements; and \n the impact of public policy on various groups, including Aboriginal people, the unemployed, the mentally ill, older Australians, people with disabilities, women and families. \n \nThinking about Poverty argues that the quality of any society must be judged by its values and norms; that without a just and decent moral code, humanity is unlikely to be able to survive the social, economic and political challenges ahead. Having large numbers living in deprived conditions, while a few live in extraordinary luxury is clearly not just - nor is it morally defensible. The book therefore concludes that political leaders are liable to lose the legitimacy to govern if they continue the current course of governing for a chosen few rather than for the overall common good.\n\nNot just a critique, Thinking about Poverty puts forward a range of policy strategies and alternative economic thinking. With contributions from academics and practitioners, the book makes a contemporary and accessible contribution to discourse about poverty in Australia.\n\nContributors: Robert Bland, Andreas Cebulla, Benno Engels, Sue Green, Paul Harris, Ilan Katz, Helen Kimberley, Sonia Martin, Ruth Phillips, Eric Porter, David Rose, Klaus Serr, Karen Soldatic, Ben Spies-Butcher, Frank Stilwell and David Sykes.
Full Product Details
Author: Klaus Serr
Publisher: Federation Press
Imprint: Federation Press
Edition: 4th New edition
Weight: 0.450kg
ISBN: 9781760021450
ISBN 10: 1760021458
Pages: 304
Publication Date: 30 October 2017
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Tertiary & Higher Education
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Available To Order
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Reviews
Review of previous edition: This edited collection of papers explores global poverty and inequality, then focuses on aspects of Australian poverty. Chapters 2 and 3 focus on the global context, looking in particular at neo-liberal policies and women in poverty. Subsequent chapters focus on individual and structural explanations of poverty; the way in which poverty is conceptualised and measured; Australian poverty in a historical context; poverty and Aboriginal people; the impact of government policies on vulnerable groups in Australia; mental health and poverty; poverty and crime; the welfare of people with a disability; and the provision of emergency relief in Australia. This book would make thought-provoking reading for students and others concerned with poverty in Australia. - Family Matters (Australian Institute of Family Studies), 2007 No 77
Author Information
Klaus Serr is a Senior Lecturer at La Trobe University and has held senior academic posts at Australian Catholic University and Addis Ababa University (AAU) in Ethiopia.
