Overview

What does it mean to be poor in America at the dawn of the 21st century? For that matter, what does it mean to be rich? And how are the two related to each other? These apparently simple questions present enormous theoretical and empirical challenges to any student or social scientist. Wealth and Poverty in America is a collection of over 20 important essays on the complex relationship between the rich and poor in the United States. The authors include classical and contemporary thinkers on a wide variety of topics such as economic systems, the lifestyles of the rich and poor, and public policy. An editorial introduction and suggestions for further reading make this a useful and valuable source of information and analysis on the realities of the American rich and American poor. Collects 23 of the most important essays by classic and contemporary thinkers on wealth and poverty in America. Covers economic systems, lifestyles of the rich and poor, and public policy. Includes editorial introduction and a further reading list.

Full Product Details

Author:   Dalton Conley (New York University)
Publisher:   John Wiley and Sons Ltd
Imprint:   Wiley-Blackwell
Dimensions:   Width: 17.00cm , Height: 2.00cm , Length: 24.50cm
Weight:   0.685kg
ISBN:  

9780631231806

ISBN 10:   0631231803
Pages:   312
Publication Date:   01 November 2002
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Undergraduate ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Out of stock  
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Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vii Introduction: Wealth and Poverty in the Affluent Society 1 Part I: On the Origins and Causes of Wealth and Poverty: Systemic Explanations 11 1. Of the Division of Labor 13 Adam Smith 2. Absolute and Relative Surplus Value 21 Karl Marx 3. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism 29 Max Weber 4. Some Principles of Stratification 43 Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore 5. Winner-Take-All Markets 53 Robert H. Frank and Philip J. Cook Part II: Who's Rich, Who's Poor: How Resources Affect Life Chances 67 6. Inequality 69 Christopher Jencks 7. What Money Can't Buy: Family Income and Children's Life Chances 76 Susan Mayer 8. Being Black, Living in the Red: Race, Wealth and Social Policy in America 83 Dalton Conley 9. Black Picket Fences: Privilege and Peril among the Black Middle Class 96 Mary Patillo-McCoy 10. Ain't No Making It: Aspirations and Attainment in a Low-Income Neighborhood 115 Jay MacLeod Part III: Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous 127 11. From Democracy in America 129 Alexis de Tocqueville 12. The Miser and the Spendthrift 135 Georg Simmel 13. The Very Rich 140 C. Wright Mills 14. Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How they Got There 161 David Brooks 15. The Case of Pullman, Illinois 172 Michael Walzer Part IV: Lifestyles of the Poor and Anonymous 179 16. Swapping 181 Carol Stack 17. The Code of the Streets 190 Elijah Anderson 18. Sidewalk Sleeping and Crack Bingeing 201 Mitchell Duneier 19. Whores, Slaves, and Stallions: Languages of Exploitation and Accommodation Among Prizefighters 211 Loic Wacquant Part V: What is to Be Done? Wealth, Poverty, and Public Policy 223 20. In the Shadow of the Poorhouse: A Social History of Welfare in America 225 Michael Katz 21. The Hidden Agenda 254 William Julius Wilson 22. The Stakeholder Society 267 Bruce Ackerman and Anne Alstott 23. Black Economic Progress in the Era of Mass Imprisonment 278 Bruce Western, Becky Pettit, Josh Guetzkow Additional Readings 291 Index 293

Reviews

All too many collections of social science writings are almost literally slapped together, devoid of purpose and focus. This useful volume, however, is a striking exception. It is a 'reader' with a clear focus that consists of 23 well-chosen selctions and a helpful appendix that lists additional readings. Tom Pettigrew, University of California Santa Cruz, Journal of Ethinic and Migration Studies, Vol 32 No 7 This book is a wonderful resource for teaching. Dalton Conley has accumulated a set of important readings on both spectrums of the social stratification ladder. Martin Sanchez-Janowski, University of California at Berkeley

"All too many collections of social science writings are almost literally slapped together, devoid of purpose and focus. This useful volume, however, is a striking exception. It is a 'reader' with a clear focus that consists of 23 well-chosen selctions and a helpful appendix that lists additional readings." Tom Pettigrew, University of California Santa Cruz, Journal of Ethinic and Migration Studies, Vol 32 No 7 "This book is a wonderful resource for teaching. Dalton Conley has accumulated a set of important readings on both spectrums of the social stratification ladder." Martin Sanchez-Janowski, University of California at Berkeley

All too many collections of social science writings are almost literally slapped together, devoid of purpose and focus. This useful volume, however, is a striking exception. It is a 'reader' with a clear focus that consists of 23 well-chosen selctions and a helpful appendix that lists additional readings. Tom Pettigrew, University of California Santa Cruz, Journal of Ethinic and Migration Studies, Vol 32 No 7 This book is a wonderful resource for teaching. Dalton Conley has accumulated a set of important readings on both spectrums of the social stratification ladder. Martin Sanchez-Janowski, University of California at Berkeley

Author Information

Dalton Conley is Associate Professor of Sociology and Director for the Center for Advanced Social Science Research at New York University. He is the author of Being Black, Living in the Red: Race, Wealth, and Social Policy in America (1999) and Honky (2000).

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