Poverty and Postmodernity
- 1 January 1997
- book chapter
- Published by SAGE Publications
Abstract
Over the past century, poverty has been a central concept in the development of U.S. social policies and the social work profession. This reading examines the question as to whether the dominant view of poverty in the 20th century—defining it in terms of material deprivation and inadequate consumption—might be coming to an end. Mark Stern, professor of social welfare and history at the University of Pennsylvania, takes the position that the materialist perspective underestimates the role of two sets of choices in shaping the reality of poverty in the late 20th century. One involves what he terms the “postmodern” choices people who are poor have made about their lifestyles and domestic situation that have increased their risk of poverty. The ...Keywords
This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: