The Biological Inferiority of the Undeserving Poor

For most of recorded history, poverty reflected God’s will. The poor were always with us. They were not inherently immoral, dangerous, or different. They were not to be shunned, feared, or avoided. In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, a harsh new idea of poverty and poor people as...

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Main Author: Michael B. Katz
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Social Work & Society 2013-12-01
Series:Social Work and Society
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ejournals.bib.uni-wuppertal.de/index.php/sws/article/view/359
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author Michael B. Katz
author_facet Michael B. Katz
author_sort Michael B. Katz
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description For most of recorded history, poverty reflected God’s will. The poor were always with us. They were not inherently immoral, dangerous, or different. They were not to be shunned, feared, or avoided. In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, a harsh new idea of poverty and poor people as different and inferior began to replace this ancient biblical view. In what ways, exactly, are poor people different from the rest of us became – and remains – a burning question answered with moral philosophy, political economy, social science, and, eventually, biology. Why did biological conceptions of poverty wax and wane over the last century and a half? What forms have they taken? What have been their consequences?
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spelling doaj.art-72146606ffe346568c09ce7aa6d218a22022-12-21T20:19:37ZengSocial Work & SocietySocial Work and Society1613-89532013-12-01111The Biological Inferiority of the Undeserving PoorMichael B. Katz0University of PennsylvaniaFor most of recorded history, poverty reflected God’s will. The poor were always with us. They were not inherently immoral, dangerous, or different. They were not to be shunned, feared, or avoided. In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, a harsh new idea of poverty and poor people as different and inferior began to replace this ancient biblical view. In what ways, exactly, are poor people different from the rest of us became – and remains – a burning question answered with moral philosophy, political economy, social science, and, eventually, biology. Why did biological conceptions of poverty wax and wane over the last century and a half? What forms have they taken? What have been their consequences?https://ejournals.bib.uni-wuppertal.de/index.php/sws/article/view/359Biological InferiorityUndeserving Poor
spellingShingle Michael B. Katz
The Biological Inferiority of the Undeserving Poor
Social Work and Society
Biological Inferiority
Undeserving Poor
title The Biological Inferiority of the Undeserving Poor
title_full The Biological Inferiority of the Undeserving Poor
title_fullStr The Biological Inferiority of the Undeserving Poor
title_full_unstemmed The Biological Inferiority of the Undeserving Poor
title_short The Biological Inferiority of the Undeserving Poor
title_sort biological inferiority of the undeserving poor
topic Biological Inferiority
Undeserving Poor
url https://ejournals.bib.uni-wuppertal.de/index.php/sws/article/view/359
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