Law Commons^™

Poverty As An Everday State Of Exception, Julie Nice

Julie A. Nice

This essay applies the provocative theory of Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben to Poverty Law. It is forthcoming as a book chapter in a multidisciplinary volume of papers exploring the relations between accumulation and insecurity. Professor Nice distills Agamben's theory of the state of exception, that the dominant paradigm of modern democracy is founded on the state's power to exclude from rights those who are otherwise included within the political order. Professor Nice posits that the state's abandonment of poor people exemplifies an everyday example of the state of exception. She illustrates how poor people lack meaningful constitutional protection, legal entitlement, …