Impoverished: How to Fix Britian’s Poverty Problem sets out the deep-seated roots lying beneath the persistently high levels of poverty in the UK and, in doing so, identifies what needs to be done to rebuild Britain’s worn social contract.
The book argues that the debate on poverty is too focused on topping up inadequate household incomes through means-tested benefits. Relative income poverty is a narrow and arbitrary measure that fails to capture the growing hardship faced by millions in the 2020s.
Instead, we should focus on whether people have access to the goods and activities needed for a minimum standard of living, asking who lacks them and why. This means looking beyond household income to the costs of essential goods and whether some should be provided through universal public services.
Joanna Mack has been involved in poverty research for over 40 years, playing a pivotal role in a series of large-scale surveys into poverty in the UK, and authoring several influential books on poverty, including Breadline Britain (2015). She is consulting editor of The Journal of Poverty and Social Justice and a visiting fellow at The Open University.
Impoverished by Joanna Mack is available to buy on Policy Press for £12.99 here.
Bristol University Press/Policy Press newsletter subscribers receive a 25% discount – sign up here.
Follow Transforming Society so we can let you know when new articles publish.
The views and opinions expressed on this blog site are solely those of the original blog post authors and other contributors.
These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of the Policy Press and/or any/all contributors to this site.
Image credit: Christopher Bill via Unsplash