Poverty, by America

Description
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Evicted reimagines the debate on poverty, making a "provocative and compelling" (NPR) argument about why it persists in America: because the rest of us benefit from it.

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New Yorker, The New York Times Book Review, NPR, Oprah Daily, Time, The Star Tribune, Vulture, The Christian Science Monitor, Chicago Public Library, Esquire, California Review of Books, She Reads, Library Journal

"Urgent and accessible . . . Its moral force is a gut punch."--The New Yorker

Longlisted for the Inc. Non-Obvious Book Award - Longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal

The United States, the richest country on earth, has more poverty than any other advanced democracy. Why? Why does this land of plenty allow one in every eight of its children to go without basic necessities, permit scores of its citizens to live and die on the streets, and authorize its corporations to pay poverty wages?

In this landmark book, acclaimed sociologist Matthew Desmond draws on history, research, and original reporting to show how affluent Americans knowingly and unknowingly keep poor people poor. Those of us who are financially secure exploit the poor, driving down their wages while forcing them to overpay for housing and access to cash and credit. We prioritize the subsidization of our wealth over the alleviation of poverty, designing a welfare state that gives the most to those who need the least. And we stockpile opportunity in exclusive communities, creating zones of concentrated riches alongside those of concentrated despair. Some lives are made small so that others may grow.

Elegantly written and fiercely argued, this compassionate book gives us new ways of thinking about a morally urgent problem. It also helps us imagine solutions. Desmond builds a startlingly original and ambitious case for ending poverty. He calls on us all to become poverty abolitionists, engaged in a politics of collective belonging to usher in a new age of shared prosperity and, at last, true freedom.
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320 pages

Average rating: 7.89

45 RATINGS

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3 REVIEWS

Community Reviews

resquite
Mar 05, 2024
6/10 stars
Still processing; to say that this is an important read is an understatement, but as someone who grew up in poverty, it was hard to read.

It felt like reading a manifesto, which isn't inherently bad but I think I'm just a bit skeptical in feeling like okay, we got our manifesto, now what?

(Still think everyone should read it, just a difficult read for me.)
richardbakare
Sep 08, 2023
10/10 stars
Unbridled Capitalism is diametrically opposed to Humanism. Matthew Desmond’s breakdown of the moral inconsistencies, systemic failures, and deep rooted bigotry allow poverty to persist at such a high rate in the most prosperous nation in the world. Data, allegories, personal examples, and pointed indictments underpin a compelling read about the real suffering in America. Our politics erodes our empathy. A country deeply grounded in hero culture...read more
E Clou
May 10, 2023
8/10 stars
I'm not totally convinced of the power of US citizens, even relatively wealthy ones, in our political system as it currently exists. Notably the increasingly lax gun laws threaten wealthy Americans but there are huge judicial and political hurdles to opposing such legal relaxations. Are wealthy people really immune to gun violence now? No, increasingly Americans are shot at leisure activities and recently even at a private school. A majority of a...read more

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