Disciplining the Poor: Neoliberal Paternalism and the Persistent Power of Race

 

On April 4, 2012, a distinguished panel led a discussion coinciding with the publication of Disciplining the Poor, written by PNLC faculty member Dr. Joe Soss, along with Richard C. Fording and Sanford F. Schram.

The book highlights the changes in poverty governance over the past forty years and explains the central role of race in this evalution.

Joining Dr. Soss as event panelists were:
Atum Azzahir, Executive Director, Cultural Wellness Center
Paul Fleissner, Director, Olmsted County Community Services
Tony Wagner, Executive Leadership Fellow, Humphrey School
The discussion was moderated by Dr. Jodi Sandfort.

Panelists Tony Wagner and Atum Azzahir

Click here for an mp3 audio recording of the event.
(1 hour, 23 minutes)
Please note this is a large file and may take several seconds to upload/launch.

 

About the Book:

Disciplining the Poor explains the transformation of poverty governance over the past forty years -- why it happened, how it works today, and how it affects people. In the process, it clarifies the central role of race in this transformation and develops a more precise account of how race shapes poverty governance in the post-civil rights era. Connecting welfare reform to other policy developments, the authors analyze diverse forms of data to explicate the racialized origins, operations, and consequences of a new mode of poverty governance that is simultaneously neoliberal -- grounded in market principles -- and paternalist -- focused on telling the poor what is best for them. The study traces the rolling out of this new regime from the federal level, to the state and county levels, down to the service-providing organizations and frontline case workers who take disciplinary actions in individual cases. The result is a compelling account of how a neoliberal paternalist regime of poverty governance is disciplining the poor today.

"...This is the definitive study of the New American Poor Law that we have so far lacked, a study that properly highlights the bearing of welfare policy on labor markets and race relations."
--Francis Fox Piven, Graduate Center, City University of New York