The New American Poverty: A provocative, incisive expose of the social and political roots of poverty.

Harrington, Michael.

Penguin Books. New York, 1984.

Review by David Wilson

 

“Mr. Harrington begins his reassessment of the state of the nation with the grim pronouncement "The poor are still there." They are the uprooted and the homeless; undocumented aliens who have become sweatshop laborers; unemployed blue-collar workers, often victims of advances in technology; untrained young blacks; and families headed by poor, unmarried mothers. There were two important points that are still relevant in this book written over two decades ago: 1. The perceived laziness and short term thinking of the poor, as perceived by the outsider, is a result of the constant reinforcement of failure and the constant fear of failure. 2. In the 1960s the United States waged a war on poverty. Unfortunately the war in Vietnam received exponentially more money. The war on poverty did not result in redistribution of wealth, nor institutional change. It was believed that an ever expanding economy could “lift all boats”. The mentality of the war on poverty was “that there were victims but no victimizers.” Michael Harrington correctly notes that for a “truly effective campaign against poverty”... “there would have to be institutional change that might upset entrenched interests.” With no change in the bottom line driven economic system, poverty exists. 2,000 books and videos at: arusha.org