Wealth and Poverty in America
A Reader
1. Auflage November 2002
312 Seiten, Hardcover
Wiley & Sons Ltd
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.
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
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
