In tackling the problem of urban poverty, William Julius Wilson calls for a
revitalization of the liberal perspective in the ghetto underclass debate. He claims that
liberals dominated the discussions with compelling and intelligent arguments until the
advent of the controversial Moynihan report in 1965, which claimed that “at the heart of
the deterioration of the Negro society is the deterioration of the Negro family”
(Moynihan), After that, liberals avoided any research that might result in stigmatization
of particular racial minorities. During the 1970s, a period of liberal silence, the
conservative argument emerged as the new dominant theory of the underclass debate.
Thus, by the 1980s, the traditional liberal analysis of ghetto behavior as a symptom of
structural inequality was replaced with the conservative view that ghetto-specific
behavior is linked to ingrained cultural characteristics—“culture of poverty.” Based on
this theory, conservatives claimed that federal programs guided by liberal policy only
served to exacerbate the so-called cultural tendencies of the ghetto underclass, creating
further problems. For example, they argued that welfare incentives encouraged
demarriage and black unemployment. However, claims Wilson, Charles Murray’s
scathing criticism of federal social-welfare programs in Losing Ground provoked a
liberal revival in the underclass debate. He declares that liberals can no longer be shy
about accurately describing the urban ghetto, which is necessary in order to identify
causes and remedies. In this paper, I will not further discuss or address the
inconsistencies in Wilson’s claims about the vicissitudinary nature of the dominant
theory of the underclass debate in terms of liberal views vs. conservative views. Instead,
I will focus on his definition of the underclass, what he believes to be causes of the
underclass, and how to remedy the situation. Then I will compare his empirical claims to
the challenges presented by works of Elijah Anderson, Katherine Newman, and David
Ellwood and Christopher Jencks. Finally I will present my own thoughts on the concept
of the underclass. William Julius Wilson claims that the behavior of the underclass is a
reaction to the lack of economic opportunities caused by isolation from mainstream
society. He points to the rapid decline o...
... middle of paper ...
... must deal with all of America’s poor,
which includes the rural poor and other races.
Works Cited
Anderson, Elijah. “Street Life Interview.” The Atlantic Online. 18 August 1999.
Internet. Nov. 2003.
http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/interviews/ba990818.htm.
Ellwood, Daniel and Christopher Jencks. The Growing Differences in Family
Structure: What Do We Know? Where Do We Look for Answers? JFK
School of Government, Harvard. August 2001. Internet. Nov. 2003.
http://www.russellsage.org/programs/proj_reviews/si/revEllwoodJencks01.pdf.
Moynihan, Daniel P. “The Negro Family: The Case for National Action (1965).”
“African American Male Research.” June 1997. Internet. Nov. 2003.
< http://www.pressroom.com/~afrimale/moynihan.htm>.
Newman, Katherine. “No Shame: The View from the Left Bank.” Responses to
Loic Wacquant by Mitchell Duneier, Katherine Newman, and Elijah
Anderson. (From American Journal of Sociology). May 2002. Internet.
Nov. 2003. http://www.duneier.net.
Wilson, William Julius. The Truly Disadvantaged: The Inner City, the Underclass,
and Public Policy. The University of Chicago Press: Chicago. 1987.
According to the narrator in the introduction for the video, Faces of Poverty: Living on the breaking point in Reading, PA , Reading is ranked as one of the poorest city in any country that houses a population of 65000 people. As per the introduction, the statistics are already stacked against anybody that is trying to make it out of Reading PA. People in Reading face the same challenges as the rest of America, but their challenges seems to not have any solution, which in turn affects a wide population of its residence. The challenges faced by people in Reading include but are not limited to; lack of jobs, poor infrastructure, lack of flowing funds for building a stronger economy, and lastly, most people in Reading are not learned. This paper is going to look at the problems people in Readings face, their strengths as well as an opinion on what can be done for small towns like Reading to enable them to thrive.
... People become stuck in a rut. No changes are made, progress is nonexistent, and life becomes boring and dull. The valley is lifeless and dead. Fitzgerald describes the valley like this to show to downsides to no class mobility. Class Matters addresses the topic of class mobility with an essay by Scott and Leonhardt. Scott and Leonhardt write about how the amount of people remaining in the same class has increased exponentially since the 70s (330). This data provides backing to their argument that class mobility has severely decreased.
...ther being, that lower income people are in fact hard workers and are stuck in their social economic class. Finally, this paper discusses how it relates to our PS 204 class, and how one can link the ideas in this class with those from the book. Issues like equality which are mentioned in the book, and others like voter participation, which was a question raised by this author, are major issues in our country today. These issues need to be addressed so that individuals like Gail and Holly don t have to worry if they are injured on the job, because they know they will be taken care of. Confucius says it best, “In a country well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of.” (quote site). Our country has the ability to help these individuals, the question is, what are YOU going to do about it?
Gregory Mantsios presents himself as an expert in this essay because he states a lot of facts. The author uses stats, his own opinion, and my favorite thing that brought me in was the myths that he told the reality’s for later in the essay. Mantsios believes that no matter what social or economic class that you fall into, you have a fair chance at succeeding in life. I feel that the intended audience is the citizens of America or people in the workforce since they are the ones that have to deal with this situation. The thesis of this essay is “Perhaps, most importantly, the point that is missed is that inequality is persistent and structural- and it manifests itself in a multitude of cultural and social ways.” The author discussed the problems that occur from economic and social classes. The purpose of this argument is to debate on what kind of people will be successful in life. Everyone has a shot at being successful, and that they do with it is
Charles, Camille (2003). The dynamics of racial residential segregation. Annual Review of Sociology, 167. Retrieved from http://jstor.org/stable/30036965.
Class is a key idea related to inequality, prejudice and discrimination in Australian society. It has been considered out of fashion, because some Australian people think that there is no class difference between people in Australia, everyone enjoys equality in society. In fact, the recent de-regulation of the workplace, and the widening gap in access to hospitals, schools and employment opportunities between the rich and poor, have made class more visible in Australian than ever before. Class is "a category of people who have generally similar educational histories, job opportunities, and social standing and who are conscious of their membership in a social group that is ranked in relation to others and is replicated over generations" (Kent, 1998:87). This essay argues that class cause continues to inequality in Australian society. Firstly, class structures labor market inequality. Secondly, class shapes the quality of a person's life. Thirdly, class inequality produces continuing class differences into the next generation. Finally, class has becoming a debate in Australian society, because class inequality encourages the `right' people to work more efficiently in the workforce and helps people to identify themselves in society, but continuing relevance of the concept of class is a matter in contemporary Australia.
Helen Marshall (2005) reveals a simplistic view on what classes are and the inequalities existing within; Marshall. Part 2, (2005: p1 & p6).
I believe that blacks could benefit more from a practical, vocational education rather than a college education. Most blacks lived in poverty in the rural South, and I felt they should learn skills, work hard, and acquire property. I believed that the development of work skills would lead to economic prosperity. I predicted that blacks would be granted civil and political rights after gaining a strong economic foundation. I explained his theories in Up from Slavery and in other publications.
...servation. His most important points were as follows: education taught the Negro to feel inferior, it has not prepared Negroes to make an adequate living in his community and mis-educated the Negroes are hindering racial development rather than aiding it.
Everyone knows what the word poverty means. It means poor, unable to buy the necessities to survive in today's world. We do not realize how easy it is for a person to fall into poverty: A lost job, a sudden illness, a death in the family or the endless cycle of being born into poverty and not knowing how to overcome it. There are so many children in poverty and a family's structure can effect the outcome. Most of the people who are at the poverty level need some type of help to overcome the obstacles. There are mane issues that deal with poverty and many things that can be done to stop it.
New York City is claimed to be one of the greatest cities in the world. Many are blinded by the breathtaking skyline, the endless opportunities, and the hustle and bustle of the streets. As one of the economic capitals of the world, it is surprising to hear that about 30 percent of children currently residing in New York City are living in poverty (Cheney). New York City has evolved into a city for the wealthy by eliminating inexpensive housing and jobs, forcing many families to the streets (Elliot). Many are unaware of how prevalent child poverty is. To raise awareness, the New York Times did a series of articles that followed the life of a young girl named Dasani. The article highlights the brilliance that Dasani had at such a young age and emphasizes the everyday struggles that she had to face growing up as a child in poverty. Some ways that can lower the amount of child poverty is through after school programming and through work-for-rent housing.
According to Schwartz-Nobel, America will lose as much as 130 billion in future productive capacity for every year that 14.5 American children continue to live in poverty (Koppelman and Goodhart, 2007). Sadly the seriousness of poverty is still often clouded by myths and misunderstandings by society at large. This essay studies the issue of poverty and classism in today's society.
In the article, "Class in America", Gregory Mantsios shows us how what class individuals are in affect their lives more than they think. The author thinks Americans, don’t like to talk about class no matter is upper class, middle class, or lower class. He describes four beliefs about class in America and then he used statistical evidence to refute them. In this article I have deep feelings about the class. Here have two points first of all I thinks the class that you are in it will affect your life whatever you admit it to yourself or not another point is the class you are affects how you are succeeding in school it all affect your future. Class, will affect in the future what job you will find, what kind person you will meet. For example the
Class affects the experiences around us-how we grow up, the people we associate with, the schools we attend, our health, and our opportunities in life. Those who grow up in the upper class have the opportunity to attend the best schools, have plenty of food to eat, associate with what society deems the “best” people. The underclass, or the poor, often have a poor education, are on welfare, and are deemed the undesirables of society.
He shows us that every privilege, and attitude that the middle class have, is a direct result, of the exploitation of the working class; and their deplorable