Politics and Social Change Commons^™

Habitus, Symbolic Violence, And Reflexivity: Applying Bourdieu’S Theories To Social Work, Wendy L. Wiegmann

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

During the mid- to late-twentieth century, Pierre Bourdieu crated a conceptual framework that describes how underclass status becomes embodied in individuals, and the ways that personal, professional, and political fields perpetuate this oppression. Bourdieu’s theories also outline the role of the “critical intellectual” in undermining oppression and fighting for social justice. Using key terms from Bourdieu’s explanatory framework, this article examines the power relations and symbolic violence built into the interactions between social workers and clients, and offers suggestions as to how reflexive and relational social work can help workers reduce this impact. This paper also explores the role of …

The Construction Of A Class With A Sense Of Entitlement: A Case Study On Political Rhetoric As Symbolic Violence In Denmark, Klarissa Lueg, Andreas Jakobsen

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Taking a Bourdieusian perspective, this paper illustrates how one politically staged TV broadcast on a receiver of benefit payment has triggered political scapegoating in Denmark. The case has challenged the prevailing welfare state discourse and fostered the construction of a low class with a “sense of entitlement” by the media.

We show that the media adopted the notion of a “sense of entitlement” originally used by politicians. Welfare state critical phrases and proverbs experienced a revival.

We claim that this one-sided rhetoric abstracts from political responsibility and that power, agenda-building and rhetoric act as symbolic violence.

The Sequential Costs Of Poverty: What Traditional Measures Overlook, Elizabeth A. Segal, Laura R. Peck

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This research note proposes an addition to the poverty measurement debate. Motivated by dissatisfaction with the official poverty measure, which many scholars and practitioners share, we propose the use of sequential costs of poverty to enrich the poverty measure so that it might capture more closely the life-experiences of low-income families. After presenting some background on poverty measurement, this research note explores the conceptual framework that surrounds the notion of sequential costs. Drawing on our past research, we propose ways in which these sequential costs surface, with illustrative examples from health, employment, housing, and income maintenance.

Social Assistance And The Challenges Of Poverty And Inequality In Azerbaijan, A Low-Income Country In Transition, Nazim N. Habibov, Lida Fan

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Although low-income countries in transition are facing the challenges of poverty and inequality, evidence on the performance of safety nets in these countries is scarce. This article uses micro-file data from a nationally representative household budget survey to analyze the existing social assistance programs in Azerbaijan, a low income country in transition, from the perspectives of poverty and inequality reduction. The empirical evidence presented in this paper indicates that the poverty and inequality reduction effectiveness of social assistance programs is inadequate. First, the benefits are very modest and the poor receive only a small proportion of them. Second, some programs …

American Poverty As A Structural Failing: Evidence And Arguments, Mark R. Rank, Hong-Sik Yoon, Thomas A. Hirschl

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Empirical research on American poverty has largely focused on individual characteristicst o explain the occurrence and patternso f poverty. The argument in this article is that such an emphasis is misplaced. By focusing upon individual attributes as the cause of poverty, social scientists have largely missed the underlying dynamic of American impoverishment. Poverty researchers have in effect focused on who loses out at the economic game, rather than addressing the fact that the game produces losers in the first place. We provide three lines of evidence to suggest that U.S. poverty is ultimately the result of structural failings at the …

The New Poverty Studies: The Ethnography Of Power, Politics And Impoverished People In The United States. Judith Goode And Jeff Maskovsky (Eds.).

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book note for Judith Goode and Jeff Maskovsky (Eds.), The New Poverty Studies: The Ethnography of Power, Politics and Impoverished People in the United States. New York: New York University Press, 2001. $55.00 hardcover, $19.50 papercover.

Review Of Overcoming Welfare: Expecting More From The Poor And From Ourselves. James L. Payne. Reviewed By James Midgley, University Of California At Berkeley., James Midgley

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review James L. Payne, Overcoming Welfare: Expecting More from the Poor and From Ourselves. New York: Basic Books, 1998. $26.50 hardcover.

Review Of Through My Own Eyes: Single Mothers And The Cultures Of Poverty. Susan D. Holloway, Bruce Fuller, Marylee F. Rambaud And Constanza Eggers-Pierola. Reviewed By Jill Duerr-Berrick, University Of California At Berkeley., Jill Duerr-Berrick

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Susan D. Holloway, Bruce Fuller, Marylee E Rambaud and Constanza Eggers-Pierola, Through my own Eyes: Single Mothers and the Cultures of Poverty. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1998. $35.00 hardcover.

Assets And Financial Management Among Poor Households In Extreme Poverty Neighborhoods, Cathleen M. Finn, Paz M-B. Zorita, Claudia Coulton

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Proposals supporting the accumulation of assets in poor households are hopeful of creating upward mobility. The experiences of poor families in managing assets and other elements of daily economic life were explored through interviews with low-income Hispanic and Anglo families. All families exhibited planning and management skills needed for assets accumulation, but were unable to escape the effects of unrewarding neighborhood environments. Assets did not provide clear avenues out of poverty. If assets-based programs are to raise the economic status of poor families in extreme poverty neighborhoods they must include mechanisms to protect value and reduce uncertainty.

Profits, Welfare, And Class Position: 1965-1984, Marcus D. Pohlmann

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The study utilizes an extended version of a Charles V Hamilton paradigm in order to estimate yearly income transfers between classes in America's system of "welfare state capitalism." Analyzing the period from 1965 to 1984, what becomes most obvious is the substantial annual transfer from the middle/working class to the owning class. The transfer rose to more than $150 billion by 1984-a full 10% of middle/ working class income. Yet when looking at the implications, an interesting paradox emerges. Although the amount of transfer has increased some over the period, it has not grown nearly as fast as the after-tax …

Deprofessionalization, Proletarianization, And Social Welfare Work, Paula Dressel, Michelle Waters, Mike Sweat, Obie Clayton Jr., Amy Chandler-Clayton

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

In this paper we explore the personnel transformations which have occurred in social welfare work. Specifically, we examine the tensions between the dynamics of professionalization and deprofessionalization and how these trends have impacted upon those who work in the social welfare enterprise. Another concern of the paper is the effect of the proletarianization of social welfare work in the face of increasing efforts of some to create professional standards and to solidify the position of professionals in agencies. These struggles are examined in terms of their ability to affect the likelihood of both worker unionization and worker-client political coalitions.

Social-Emotional Keys To The Division Of Power, Philip Lichtenberg, Carol Roman Reimert, Susan S. Levine

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Social organizers concerned with facilitating the reallocation of power must not overlook psychological issues. Within groups, power hierarchies are a function of individual methods of coping with social-emotional interactions. Clinical insights suggest that both empowered and disempowered people participate in the process of establishing and maintaining this hierarchial structure.