Chapter 6 - The War on Poverty: How Qualitative Liberalism Prevailed

Summary

The War on Poverty was in many ways a political slogan rather than a concrete set of policy initiatives. Often invoked interchangeably with the “Great Society,” it included anti-poverty programs that contributed to America’s patchwork safety net and other initiatives intended to maximize the individual citizen’s ability to realize his or her fullest potential. Conservatives then and later derided the War on Poverty as a failed attempt at economic redistribution that led millions of Americans into a state of permanent dependency on the government, but in truth, LBJ and his aides never seriously contemplated policies that would enforce equality of income, wealth, or condition. They did not broadly support quantitative measures like a guaranteed minimum income or employment. Instead, they believed that qualitative measures like education, workforce training, and access to health care and food security would level the playing field and help poor people realize their share of a growing economy. When economic growth sputtered in the early 1970s, the limitations of these policy decisions became immediately evident. But, considered on its own terms, the War on Poverty proved a lasting and important component of the nation’s response to poverty.