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This book examines views about what poverty is and what should be done about it. 'Poverty' means many different things to different people - for example, material deprivation, lack of money, dependency on benefits, social exclusion or inequality. In "The idea of poverty", Paul Spicker makes a committed argument for a participative, inclusive understanding of the term.
Spicker's previous work in this field has been described as 'entertaining and sometimes controversial', and his new book certainly lives up to this. Some of the book's ideas are complex and will be of particular interest to academics and others working in the field, but the book has been written mainly for students and the interested general reader. It challenges many of the myths and stereotypes about poverty and the poor, and helps readers to make sense of a wide range of conflicting and contradictory source material.
"This book does two things and does both of them well. First, it provides a comprehensive, well written, and coherent overview of 'the idea of poverty' or perhaps rather of the 'ideas' of poverty, in terms both of concepts of poverty and the evidence about poverty. As such it is both an excellent text for students who must consider poverty and a useful general resource. Second, the author has his own clear views, expresses them well, and in the best tradition maintains a clear difference between opinion and his account of poverty as a whole. This is an important addition to the literature." David Byrne, University of Durham, UK