Who Is the Underclass? Contrasting Approaches, A Grave Problem

In: Dissent: a journal devoted to radical ideas and the values of socialism and democracy, Band 38, S. 202-211

Abstract

The underclass in the US is examined to determine its ideological & socioeconomic dimensions. It is contended that the concept of an "urban underclass" was constituted during the 1980s by conservative political pundits & the economically endowed to justify their excesses. Here, a distinction is made between the underclass & the merely impoverished to underscore the fact the former consists of people whose behavior -- rather than unemployment or poverty -- is the cause of their lowly status. Various descriptions of the underclass are discussed & critiqued, including those offered by William J. Wilson, Christopher Jencks, & Ken Auletta. It is concluded that the underclass is composed of people who are trapped at the bottom of both the legal & illegal class systems, & who, because of mental illness, addiction, or destitution, are likely to remain there. W. Howard