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STUDYING THE BOTTOM OF AMERICAN SOCIETY

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 July 2014

Herbert J. Gans
Herbert J. Gans*
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, Columbia University
*
*Corresponding author : Herbert J. Gans, Department of Sociology, Columbia University, Knox Hall, 606 W. 122nd St. MC9849. New York, NY. E-mail: hjg1@Columbia.edu
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Abstract

Gunnar Myrdal’s 1963 notion of the bottom of society is now over fifty years old and we still know virtually nothing about of the people living at that bottom or the people living there on incomes far below the federal poverty line. Since Blacks are, as always, proportionally the prime victims, the dreadful possibility of a Black population permanently at the bottom of society cannot be ruled out. This article discusses some of the questions researchers must answer to obtain an informed understanding of their problems and needs, as well as of the policies and politics, if any, that could help them.

Keywords

UnderclassGunnar MyrdalDeep PovertyExtreme PovertyAnti-poverty Policy
Type
State of the Discipline
Information
Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race , Volume 11 , Issue 2 , Fall 2014 , pp. 195 - 204
Copyright
Copyright © Hutchins Center for African and African American Research 2014 

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