Winnipeg Public Library Catalogue

"This book examines the production of poverty in England since the 12th century. The empirical analysis is rooted in the dynamics of capitalism, from its origins in the long transition from feudalism, through mercantile capitalism and colonialism and the emergence of industrial capitalism, to the brief post-war welfare state and its erosion under neoliberal capitalism. The book is unique in its focus on, and empirical description of, the production of poverty. The central argument is that poverty is an inevitable consequence of capitalism. In its search for profits capitalism expands, adapts and innovates, producing not only commodities and wealth but also, and necessarily, poverty. The persistent presence yet constantly changing character of poverty is demonstrated empirically and linked conceptually to the dynamics of capitalism. With the partial but important exception of the 1945-51 Labour governments, and to a lesser extent the 1906-1914 Liberal governments, there has never been a serious attempt to solve poverty. Efforts have long been directed at managing and controlling the poor, often via various forms of charity, to prevent them from starving or rebelling; punishing them for being poor; and forcing them into the lower reaches of the labour market where they remain poor. Any real solution, the book concludes, would require that the logic of capitalism be disrupted, with a dramatic redistribution of the profits it produces. While possible in theory, this appears as unlikely today as in centuries past, a conclusion that follows from the book's conceptual and empirical analysis."--Provided by publisher.