Poverty remains one of the most urgent issues of our time. In this fully
updated edition of her important and widely acclaimed intervention on
the topic, Ruth Lister introduces readers to the meaning and experience
of poverty in the contemporary world.
The book opens with a lucid discussion of current debates around the
definition and measurement of poverty in industrialized societies,
before embarking on a multifaceted exploration of its varied
interpretations. Drawing on thinking in the field of international
development and real-life accounts, the book emphasizes key aspects of
poverty such as powerlessness, lack of voice, insecurity, loss of
dignity and respect.
Ruth Lister embraces the relational, cultural, symbolic as well as
material dimensions of poverty, and makes important links between
poverty and other concepts such as capabilities, agency, human rights
and citizenship. She concludes by making the case for reframing the
politics of poverty as a claim for redistribution and recognition. The
result is a rich and insightful analysis, which deepens and broadens our
understanding of poverty today. It will be essential reading for all
students in the social sciences, as well as researchers, activists and
policymakers.
