A Theory of Poverty and Social Exclusion [Paperback]

Bill Jordan seeks to fill a gap in social scientific theory by accounting for why a deterioration in the living standards of the worst-off members of societies tends to coincide with the resurgence of free-market utopianism as a political creed.1. Introduction: The Great Exclusion?.

2. Interdependency and Collective Action.

3. Missing Links.

4. Globalization and the Fragmentation of Welfare States.

5. Community, Polarization and Social Exclusion.

6. The Politics of Enforcement.

7. Conclusions: States and Social Policy.

Bibliography and Sources.

Index.

With the burgeoning of research and debates on social exclusion, Bill Jordan's book provides a much-needed theory of poverty and social exclusion based not on the relativity of deprivation but on the social and economic relations of power in contemporary industrialized welfare societies. Fiona Williams, University of Leeds

In this book Bill Jordan draws on a rich mix of sources, including public choice theory and his own work on the strategies of excluded households, to shake up tired theories of poverty and to throw light on the future of social policy in the US and Britain (with glances towards Eastern Europe). It is an exhilarating book: learned but impatient, pessimistic but inspiring. An honest attempt to make sense of the turmoil that is social policy today. Ian Gough, University of Bath

This is an important book which makes a valuable contribution to the theoretical debate about poverty and social exclusion. One of the main strengths of this work is its interdisciplinary focus ... this book is a valuable addition to the study of poverty and it is likely to stimulate much debate. British Journal of Sociology

This is an ambitious book which attempts to charl£"