Elementary Secondary Higher Ed Common Reads
0 0
Download high-resolution image Look inside

Regulating the Poor

The Functions of Public Welfare

Author Frances Fox Piven, Richard Cloward
Look inside
Paperback
$18.00 US
Knopf | Vintage
On sale Sep 28, 1993 | 544 Pages | 9780679745167
Add to cart Add to list Exam Copies

See Additional Formats
Piven and Cloward have updated their classic work on the history and function of welfare to cover the American welfare state's massive erosion during the Reagan, Bush, and Clinton years. The authors present a boldly comprehensive, brilliant new theory to explain the comparative underdevelopment of the U.S. welfare state among advanced industrial nations. Their conceptual framework promises to shape the debate within current and future administrations as they attempt to rethink the welfare system and its role in American society.

"Uncompromising and provocative....By mixing history, political interpretation and sociological analysis, Piven and Cloward provide the best explanation to date of our present situation...no future discussion of welfare can afford to ignore them."
—Peter Steinfels, The New York Times Book Review
1. Relief, Labor, and Civil Disorder: An Overview

Part I: Relief and the Great Depression
2. Economic Collapse, Mass Unemployment, and the Rise of Disorder
3. The New Deal and Relief

Part II: Relief and the Years of Stability: 1940–1960
4. Enforcing Low-Wage Work: Statutory Methods
5. Enforcing Low Wage Work: Administrative Methods

Part III: Relief and the Urban Crisis
6. The Welfare Explosion of the 1960s
7. Agricultural Modernization and Mass Unemployment
8. Migration and the Rise of Disorder in the Cities
9. The Great Society and Relief: Federal Intervention
10. The Great Society: Local Consequences

Part IV: Relief, Deindustrialization, and the War Against Labor: 1970–1990
11. Poor Relief and the Dramaturgy of Work
12. Poor Relief and Theories of the Welfare State
Frances Fox Piven is Distinguished Professor of Political Science, Graduate School and University Center, City University of New York.

With Richard A. Cloward, she co-authored: The Politics of Turmoil, Poor People's Movements, The New Class War, and Why Americans Don't Vote. They won the C. Wright Mills Award and various international and national awards. View titles by Frances Fox Piven
Richard A. Cloward was a social worker and sociologist, and was a faculty member at the Columbia University School of Social Work from 1954 until his death in 2001.

With France Fox Piven, he co-authored: The Politics of Turmoil, Poor People's Movements, The New Class War, and Why Americans Don't Vote. They won the C. Wright Mills Award and various international and national awards. View titles by Richard Cloward

About

Piven and Cloward have updated their classic work on the history and function of welfare to cover the American welfare state's massive erosion during the Reagan, Bush, and Clinton years. The authors present a boldly comprehensive, brilliant new theory to explain the comparative underdevelopment of the U.S. welfare state among advanced industrial nations. Their conceptual framework promises to shape the debate within current and future administrations as they attempt to rethink the welfare system and its role in American society.

"Uncompromising and provocative....By mixing history, political interpretation and sociological analysis, Piven and Cloward provide the best explanation to date of our present situation...no future discussion of welfare can afford to ignore them."
—Peter Steinfels, The New York Times Book Review

Table of Contents

1. Relief, Labor, and Civil Disorder: An Overview

Part I: Relief and the Great Depression
2. Economic Collapse, Mass Unemployment, and the Rise of Disorder
3. The New Deal and Relief

Part II: Relief and the Years of Stability: 1940–1960
4. Enforcing Low-Wage Work: Statutory Methods
5. Enforcing Low Wage Work: Administrative Methods

Part III: Relief and the Urban Crisis
6. The Welfare Explosion of the 1960s
7. Agricultural Modernization and Mass Unemployment
8. Migration and the Rise of Disorder in the Cities
9. The Great Society and Relief: Federal Intervention
10. The Great Society: Local Consequences

Part IV: Relief, Deindustrialization, and the War Against Labor: 1970–1990
11. Poor Relief and the Dramaturgy of Work
12. Poor Relief and Theories of the Welfare State

Author

Frances Fox Piven is Distinguished Professor of Political Science, Graduate School and University Center, City University of New York.

With Richard A. Cloward, she co-authored: The Politics of Turmoil, Poor People's Movements, The New Class War, and Why Americans Don't Vote. They won the C. Wright Mills Award and various international and national awards. View titles by Frances Fox Piven
Richard A. Cloward was a social worker and sociologist, and was a faculty member at the Columbia University School of Social Work from 1954 until his death in 2001.

With France Fox Piven, he co-authored: The Politics of Turmoil, Poor People's Movements, The New Class War, and Why Americans Don't Vote. They won the C. Wright Mills Award and various international and national awards. View titles by Richard Cloward

Additional formats

Other Books by this Author

Related Articles

Books for National Depression Education and Awareness Month
Psychology

Books for National Depression Education and Awareness Month

For National Depression Education and Awareness Month in October, we are sharing a collection of titles that educates and informs on depression, including personal stories from those who have experienced depression and topics that range from causes and symptoms of depression to how to develop coping mechanisms to battle depression.

Read more

Books for National Depression Education and Awareness Month

Psychology
Literature

Horror Titles for the Halloween Season

In celebration of the Halloween season, we are sharing horror books that are aligned with the themes of the holiday: the sometimes unknown and scary creatures and witches. From classic ghost stories and popular novels that are celebrated today, in literature courses and beyond, to contemporary stories about the monsters that hide in the dark, our list

Read more

Horror Titles for the Halloween Season

Literature
History Gender and Sexuality Studies

Books for LGBTQIA+ History Month

For LGBTQIA+ History Month in October, we’re celebrating the shared history of individuals within the community and the importance of the activists who have fought for their rights and the rights of others. We acknowledge the varying and diverse experiences within the LGBTQIA+ community that have shaped history and have led the way for those

Read more

Books for LGBTQIA+ History Month

History Gender and Sexuality Studies
Subscribe

Penguin Random House Higher Education

© 2025 Penguin Random House

Back to Top
0
    • 0
    Wish List (0)