Abstract
Homogenizing the poor, treating them as a shapeless blob, is not only dehumanizing but also makes them candidates for a single set of public policies. We propose to show, instead, using cultural theory, that there are different types of poor people, who follow different strategies in coping with or overcoming their condition.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Dickens, Charles (1966).David Copperfield. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
Douglas, Mary (1970).Natural Symbols: Explorations in Cosmology. London: Barrie & Rockliff; Cresset Press.
Douglas, Mary (ed.) (1982a).Essays in the Sociology of Perception. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
Douglas, Mary (1982b). “Cultural bias.” In herIn the Active Voice. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
First Draft of the U.S. Bishops' Pastoral Letter on Catholic Social Teaching and the U.S. Economy (1984). InOrigins, NC Documentary Service 14 (November 15, 1984). [Published by the National Catholic News Service in Washington, D.C.]
Frazier, Franklin E. (1966).The Negro Family in the United States. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Gaskell, Elizabeth (1970a).Mary Barton. Hammondsworth: Penguin.
Gaskell, Elizabeth (1970b).North and South. Hammondsworth: Penguin.
Gladwin, Thomas (1961). “The anthropologist's view of poverty.”The Social Welfare Forum. New York: Columbia University Press.
Glazer, Nathan and Moynihan, D.P. (1963).Beyond the Melting Pot. Cambridge: M.I.T. Press and Harvard University Press.
Harrington, Michael (1964).The Other America: Poverty in the United States. New York: Penguin.
Keil, Charles (1966).Urban Blues. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Lewis, Oscar (1959).Five Families. New York: Basic Books.
Lewis, Oscar (1961).The Children of Sanchez. New York: Random House.
Lewis, Oscar (1966).La Vida. New York: Random House.
Liebow, Elliot (1967).Talley's Corner. Boston: Little, Brown.
Matza, David (1966). “The disreputable poor.” In Neil J. Smelser and Seymour M. Lipset (eds.)Social Structure and Mobility in Economic Development. Chicago: Aldine.
Moynihan, D. P. (1965).The Negro Family: The Case for National Action. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Labor.
Piachaud, David (1979a). “Who are the poor and what is the best way to help them?”New Society 47 (March 15): 603–606.
Piachaud, David (1979b). “Inequality and social policy.”New Society 47 (March 22): 670–672.
Rainwater, L. and Yancey, William L. (1967).The Moynihan Report and the Politics of Controversy. Cambridge: M.I.T. Press.
Rogers, Harrell R. Jr. (1979).Poverty Amid Plenty. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Sheehan, Susan (1975).A Welfare Mother. New York: New American Library.
Stack, Carol B. (1974).All Our Kin. New York: Harper and Row.
Steinbeck, John (1932).The Pastures of Heaven. New York: Brewer, Warren and Putnam.
Swift, Jonathan (1729).A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of the Poor People from Being a Burthen to their Parents or the Country, and for Making them Beneficial to the Publick.
Thompson, Michael (1984). “Among the energy tribes: a cultural framework for the analysis and design of energy policy.”Policy Sciences 17: 321–339.
Valentine, Charles A. (1968).Culture and Poverty. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Wildavsky, Aaron (1985). “Budgets as social orders.”Urban Policy 1: 183–197.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Thompson, M., Wildavsky, A. A poverty of distinction. Policy Sci 19, 163–199 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02113494
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02113494