Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: When Work Disappears : The World of the New Urban Poor by William Julius Wilson ISBN: 0-679-72417-6 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 29 July, 1997 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.13 (15 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: a sociology tour de force
Comment: I think there are two major problems with theories that attempt to explain black poverty as something completely or primarily due to welfare, "culture", or genetics: first, they seem to lack a comprehensive understanding of African-American history. Second, from everything I've seen, such theories totally ignore the very similar conditions experienced by other ethnic/national minority groups in many advanced as well as developing countries (ex: Gypsies, Maori, Aboriginies, etc.). On the other hand, an author such as Wilson offers a very refreshing insight into the conditions of the urban poor. While his policy prescriptions call for a much stronger, activist government, the focus of this book is the analysis of the current conditions of the black urban poor and how it reached it's current state. In that sense, it should be accesible to all political stripes. Also, this book is not in any way a "marxist" critique; it never criticizes American or global "capitalism" as the cause of the poor's suffering. The citing of socio-economic factors, such as technological and industrial changes, as a major factor in the deteriorating conditions of the urban poor is quite a different thing than stating that one can only solve such problems by overthrowing capitalism (this is a marxist perspective, not Wilsons). Also, the author's analysis does not lack addressing issues of "personal responsibility" or cultural, behavioral norms. On the contrary, he takes these very sensitive issues head-on and concludes that in some important ways there is a distinctive sub-culture (a "culture of poverty"), but not for the reasons some intellectuals assert (welfare, genetics, etc.). Differing social norms concerning work ethic, education, attitudes at work, etc. primarily exist because of the high rate of concentration and separation of the black urban poor from white, middle-class society. Those who grow up in a community where joblessness is actually the norm (and all of its associated ills) will not have adequate preparation for decent-paying jobs that require good education, work references, and interpersonal skills. I could say so much more, but I should probably limit this review to concluding that Wilson's work is destined to become a classic sociological reference and an important guide for other writers as well as policy-makers.
Rating: 4
Summary: Socioeconomic roots of urban rot
Comment: It is a bit ironic that a sociologist (as Mr Wilson is) would stress economic causal factors, while economists (such as Thomas Sowell) frequently refer to the sociocultural determinants (emphasis on cultural). Ironic, but understandable, especially if you view all human behavior (including the books that scholars write), as having sociopolitical motives (emphasis on political). That is is what makes this book so refreshing. WHEN WORK DISAPPEARS offers explanations other than the tiresome cant of cultural deterministic causes favored by 'cant'servatives, and the acidic analyses by 'vitrioliberals' who incessantly blame racism.
Mr Wilson states that the inner cities have seen the disappearance of unskilled factory jobs; the low wage economy was characterized by stable black neighborhoods, and even with low pay, the situation was sustainable. These neighborhoods are gone and have been replaced by crime-infested slums. The causal factor is global economic reorganization, not racism, nor culture (although Mr Wilson does refer to "ghetto-related behavior and attitudes").
Blaming racism is a meretricios argument, especially when analyses such as Michael Dawsons' BEHIND THE MULE show that blacks are themselves divided on the issue. Upper income blacks are much more likely than lower income blacks to blame poor blacks for their own plight. The complexity of the matter is further illustrated by works such as Jennifer Hochschilds' FACING UP TO THE AMERICAN DREAM where she says that poor, urban, blacks are optimistic about the eventual success of the next generation, and they are often "touchingly gratified by their own or their children's progress.".
Mr Wilson is obviously aware of this complexity, and he shows that he is not politically naive. He rejects the favored term of conservatives - the underclass - when refering to the inner city poor. Some argue that it is used as a euphemism for lumpen. Mr Wilson calls the word an "epithet." The specious argument that 'racism is to blame' and the cruel 'change your culture and get a job' policy prescription, should be rejected as that of blinkered polemicists.
If the book has a fault it is in its policy prescriptions. Without providing sufficient details as to how the remedial programs will be paid for, there is scope for criticism that Mr Wilson is proposing increased spending by a larger federal bureaucracy. He refers to the role that private sector companies have in hiring former welfare recipients, but he seems pessimistic about the prospects. What else then? Certainly, Mr Wilson knows that the probability of an enlarged government role in a new war on poverty is slim to none.
Rating: 2
Summary: Lets correlate joblessness with everything
Comment: This book is full of excuses and manipulated data that ignores the ultimate moral responsibility of a society. We can correlate joblessness with the number of innercity households that contain black ink pens if we want to. While Wilson presents an argument in an attempt to educate, his words are slanted in such a way that we are left feeling "sorry for them".
 |
Title: The Truly Disadvantaged: The Inner City, the Underclass, and Public Policy by William Julius Wilson ISBN: 0226901319 Publisher: University of Chicago Press (Trd) Pub. Date: October, 1990 List Price(USD): $12.03 |
 |
Title: American Apartheid: Segregation and the Making of the Underclass by Douglas S. Massey, Nancy A. Denton ISBN: 0674018214 Publisher: Harvard Univ Pr Pub. Date: July, 1998 List Price(USD): $19.50 |
 |
Title: Code of the Street: Decency, Violence, and the Moral Life of the Inner City by Elijah Anderson ISBN: 0393320782 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: September, 2000 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
 |
Title: The Declining Significance of Race : Blacks and Changing American Institutions by William Julius Wilson ISBN: 0226901297 Publisher: University of Chicago Press Pub. Date: December, 1980 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
 |
Title: No Shame in My Game : The Working Poor in the Inner City by KATHERINE S. NEWMAN ISBN: 0375703799 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 25 April, 2000 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
