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Work hard to get ahead; the poor are mostly minorities in inner cities living lazily off of welfare fraud; the government spends more on welfare than anywhere else in the world; America is a land of equal opportunity with easy social mobility for all. These are but a handful of the many myths about poverty in America, some of which have persisted for decades, with significant and harmful consequences on our social policy, our social compacts, and ourselves. Poorly Understood seeks to challenge and debunk these myths, along the way asking tough questions about how and why they have persisted and what it would take to replace them with true stories.
Conversations about liberty in the U.S. often focus on freedom from - such as freedom from government. This focus can sometimes come at the expense of the freedom to - such as the freedom for all Americans to live the lives they imagine for themselves, and the conditions that might be necessary for this to be realized. In On Inequality and Freedom, a divesre groupd of authors explore how Americans might benefit from this expanded notion of what freedom truly entails.
In Rugged Individualism and the Misunderstanding of American Inequality, the authors argue that a culture of individualism in the U.S. limits the pressure politicians face to develop robust social policies. This individualism combines with racism and features of the political ...
The paradox of poverty amidst plenty has plagued the United States throughout the 21st century--why should the wealthiest country in the world also have the highest rates of poverty among the industrialized nations? Based on his decades-long research and scholarship, one of the nation's leading authorities provides the answer. In The Poverty Paradox, Mark Robert Rank develops his unique perspective for understanding this puzzle. The approach is what he has defined over the years as structural vulnerability. Central to this new way of thinking is the distinction between those who lose out at the economic game versus why the game produces losers in the first place. Americans experiencing pover...
Economic inequality is a defining issue of our time, with a handful of individuals in the United States today owning more wealth than half the population in the country. What are the psychological consequences of living in a profoundly unequal society? This comprehensive textbook is among the first to examine poverty, wealth, and economic inequality from a psychological perspective. Written by two leading scholars in the field, it provides an intersectional analysis of the impact of economic inequality on cognitive, emotional, interpersonal, intergroup, physiological, and health outcomes. Students are introduced to the diverse methods used to study poverty, wealth, and economic inequality and the strengths and weaknesses of various approaches, while the text focuses on solutions at the individual, community, and national levels to restore optimism and encourage action. Chapter features include exercises and reflection questions that help students think critically about the implications of research findings for their own lives.
The Myth of Individualism is a wonderful, concise introduction to sociology and sociological thinking, showing readers how social forces shape our lives and the world. Revised and updated throughout, the third edition of this powerful book continues to challenge the common belief that human behavior is the result of free choices made by autonomous actors, but rather shows the many ways that people are naturally social, interdependent, and shaped by social forces. Filled with engaging stories and deep research, The Myth of Individualism helps readers begin to develop a sociological imagination. By acknowledging the limits of individual effort and control, we gain insight into our own lives an...
The first comprehensive map of the social safety net, public and private, in the United States. Societies are often judged by how they treat their most vulnerable members: the poor and near poor. In the United States, this responsibility belongs not only to governments, but also to charities, businesses, individuals, and family members. Their combined efforts generate a social safety net. In Who Cares, Christopher Howard offers the first comprehensive map of the US social safety net. He chronicles how different parts of American society talk about poverty-related needs. And he shows what Americans do to provide basic levels of income, food, housing, medical care, and daily care. Although the US social safety net is extensive, major gaps remain, particularly impacting Blacks, Hispanics, and individuals who are not employed full-time. Drawing heavily upon evidence from the years right before the Covid-19 pandemic, Howard demonstrates that these problems persist even when the economy seems healthy. Who Cares concludes with an initial assessment of how the social safety net performed during the pandemic.
"Luck, chance, and randomness are topics that virtually everyone can relate to and that each of us have been affected by. The Random Factor explores these subjects using a vast array of evidence, fresh insights, and compelling stories based upon the author's long standing research. The range of subjects and scholarship is far reaching and compelling. From history, to the natural world, to our everyday lives, chance is shown to play an important role in shaping various outcomes. Just as important, The Random Factor details the dynamics that determine the ways that luck and chance play themselves out, and it reveals the lessons to be learned in terms of guiding our personal lives and social policies. Mark Robert Rank leads his readers on a fascinating journey across the shifting sands of chance and luck. It is a journey that will change the way we fundamentally understand the world we live in and the manner in which our lives unfold"--
"Of every book written by anybody associated with the Trump administration, in any way, [this] is absolutely the one to read." --Rachel Maddow INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A celebrated foreign policy expert and key impeachment witness reveals how declining opportunity has set America on the grim path of modern Russia--and draws on her personal journey out of poverty, as well as her unique perspectives as an historian and policy maker, to show how we can return hope to our forgotten places. This book has a miraculous quality.... As a memoir this is hard to put down; if you are seeking a better American future you should pick it up."--Timothy Snyder, New York Times best-selling author of ...