Poverty

 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.

Review: "Since 2004, Ruth Lister's book has been the definitive text on poverty. This new edition is destined to replace the first as a must-have volume for anyone interested in social policy, and to become the go-to source whenever poverty is discussed." Robert Walker, Beijing Normal University and University of Oxford "Ruth Lister offers a rare combination of great professional expertise and moral authority and an abiding commitment to ways of tackling poverty effectively. The result is a highly readable and unusually insightful book about shaping a decent and compassionate society." Philip Alston, former UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights "For anyone who has an interest in understanding and tackling poverty be they a community worker, social worker, youth worker, think tank policy wonk, academics, local councillor or MP, this is an essential, comprehensive and rewarding read. I highly recommend that, along with putting regular shifts in at your local food bank, you find the time to purchase a copy and read it." vulnerability360.org.uk