Description

Book Synopsis
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 syste

    Trade Review
    "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



    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

Wealth and Poverty in America

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    Publisher: John Wiley and Sons Ltd
    Publication Date: 01/11/2002
    ISBN13: 9780631231806, 978-0631231806
    ISBN10: 0631231803
    Also in:
    Poverty and precarity Sociology and anthropology

    Description

    Book Synopsis
    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 syste

      Trade Review
      "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



      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

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