Work, Consumerism and the New Poor (Issues in society)

It is one thing to be poor in a society of producers and universal employment; it is a quite different thing to be poor in a society of consumers, in which life projects are built around the consumer choice rather than work, professional skills or jobs. Where "being poor" once was once linked to being unemployed, today it draws its meaning primarily from the plight of a flawed consumer. This has a significant effect on the way living in poverty is experienced and on the prospects for redeeming its misery. Work, Consumerism and the New Poor traces this change over the duration of modern history. It makes an inventory of its social consequences, and considers how effective different ways of fighting poverty and relieving its hardships are.