Visions of Poverty: Welfare Policy and Political Imagination (Rhetoric and Public Affairs)

335 Pages·2001·31.99 MB·English

by  Robert Asen

Visions of Poverty
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Visions of Poverty
Welfare Policy and Political Imagination
ROBERT ASEN
Michigan State University Press
East Lansing
Copyright © 2002 by Robert Asen
0 The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (R 1997) (Permanence of Paper).
Michigan State University Press
East Lansing, Michigan 48823-5202
Printed and bound in the United States of America.
08 07 06 05 04 03 02 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Asen, Robert, 1968-
Visions of poverty: welfare policy and political imagination / Robert Asen.
p. cm.— (Rhetoric and public affairs series)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-87013-600-3 (Cloth : alk. paper)— ISBN 0-87013-606-2 (Paper: alk. paper)
1. Public welfare— United States. 2. Poverty— United States. 1. Title. 11. Series.
HV95 .A848 2002
36i.6'5'o973— DC21 2001005115
Martin J. Medhurst, Series Editor, Texas A&M University
EDITORIAL BOARD
Denise M. Bostdorff, College ofWooster
G. Thomas Goodnight, Northwestern University
Robert Hariman, Drake University
Marouf Aziz Hasian Jr., University of Utah
David Henry, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
}. Michael Hogan, Venn State University
Robert L. Ivie, Indiana University
Jay Mechling, University of California, Davis
John M. Murphy, University of Georgia
David Zarefsky, Northwestern University
Barbie Zelizer, University of Pennsylvania
Cover design by Heather Truelove
Book design by Valerie Brewster, Scribe Typography
Visit Michigan State University Press on the World Wide Web at:
www.msupress.msu.edu
To Rochelle,
whose keen mind kind hearty
y
and generous spirit have been
sources of inspiration.

Contents
3 Acknowledgments
CHAPTER 1
5 Imagining Others in Public Policy Debate
CHAPTER 2
25 Cross-Purposes and Divided Populations:
The Historical Contradictions of Poverty Discourse
CHAPTER 3
67 Reducing Welfare
CHAPTER 4
117 Reorienting Welfare
CHAPTER 5
165 Repealing Welfare
CHAPTER 6
225 Imagining an Inclusive Political Community
245 Notes
289 Bibliography
313 Index

Visions of Poverty