Policy Press Poverty propaganda: Exploring the Myths

Does real poverty still exist in Britain? How do people differentiate between the supposed deserving and undeserving poor? Is there a culture of worklessness passed down generation to generation? Bringing together historical and contemporary material, Poverty Propaganda: Exploring the myths sheds new light on how poverty is understood in contemporary Britain. The book debunks many popular myths and misconceptions about poverty and its prevalence, causes and consequences. In particular, it highlights the role of poverty propaganda in sustaining class divides in perpetuating poverty and disadvantage in contemporary Britain. Review An essential guide to poverty in 21st Century Britain. Poverty Propaganda examines how the truth about poverty, its causes and consequences, continue to be hidden behind headlines, stories and images of the feckless undeserving poor. --Imogen Tyler, University of Lancaster Exposes the falsehood of stigmatising through treating people as 'undeserving' at a time when a privileged minority is receiving a lot of 'something for nothing'. --Guy Standing, SOAS University of London Sets out to debunk many of the myths around poverty and benefits in the UK....reveals the extent of `poverty propaganda' and the ideological function this plays in defending successive cuts to social security support. A timely and important book from one of the leading thinkers on poverty in the UK. --Ruth Patrick, University of Liverpool About the Author Dr Tracy Shildrick is Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Newcastle. She is co-author of Poverty and insecurity (Policy Press, 2012) which won the Peter Townsend 2013 prize. Her research interests span youth transitions, worklessness, poverty and social exclusion.