When Work
Disappears
By William Julius Wilson
Presented by: Tony, Jose, Monica, Naomi
Three Main Areas of Focus
• ECONOMIC
• POLITICAL
• SOCIAL
(economic restructuring,
suburbanization of jobs)
(policies that have reinforced
racial tensions and increased
both separation and inequality
among various groups and
races)
(problems resulting from longterm deterioration of inner city
quality of life)
“I argue that the
disappearance of work
and the consequences of
that disappearance for
both social and cultural
life are the central
problems in the inner-city
ghetto.” (xix, Wilson)
Three Main Areas of Focus
• ECONOMIC
• POLITICAL
• SOCIAL
(economic restructuring,
suburbanization of jobs)
(policies that have reinforced
racial tensions and increased
both separation and inequality
among various groups and
races)
(problems resulting from longterm deterioration of inner city
quality of life)
“… the problems of
economic and social
marginality spring from
the inequities of society at
large … not from group
deficiencies.”
(xxii, Wilson)
Some important definitions …
• New Urban Poverty – Poor segregated
neighborhoods in which a substantial
majority of individual adults are either
unemployed or have dropped out of the
labor force altogether.
(19, Wilson)
Some important definitions …
• Institutional Ghetto – A segregated ghetto
area whose structure and activities parallel
those of the larger, mainstream society.
(23, Wilson)
Some important definitions …
• Jobless Ghetto – The new ghetto and the
home of the new urban poor. Features a
lack of basic opportunities and resources, as
well as an inadequate system of social
controls.
(19, Wilson)
Important Contributing Factors
• Loss of low skilled work
(DeIndustrialization)
• Increased suburbanization
• Influx of poor immigrants
• Increase in jobs requiring college
degrees or training
Important Contributing Factors
• Loss of low skilled work (Deindustrialization)
• Increased suburbanization
• Influx of poor immigrants
• Increase in jobs requiring college
degrees or training
Social Organization
• Social organization is the extent to which
the residents of a neighborhood are able to
maintain effective social control and realize
their common goals.
Dimensions of neighborhood
social organization
1. The prevalence, strength, and
interdependence of social networks;
2. The extent of collective supervision that the
residents exercise and the degree of
personal responsibility they assume in
addressing neighborhood problems;
3. The rate of resident participation in
voluntary and formal organizations.
Media Perceptions of the
“underclass” are often
inconsistent with the
actual views expressed by
inner city residents
Americans strongly believe in the
idea that individuals are largely
responsible for their economic
situations. Americans concentrate
on work motivation of the poor
rather than on the cyclical nature
of employment in the U.S.
The belief in individual
responsibility for economic status
is evident in that the basic belief
system concerning the nature of
poverty and welfare frames
economic and social outcomes and
conditions in individual terms.
The Decline of
AFDC and
Welfare Reform
The collapse of support for AFDC
recipients is related to fundamental
assumptions about the nature of
welfare and welfare families
including the stereotypical view that
most families on welfare are black
women with several children.
In 1995, AFDC recipients
who were African-American
made up about 39.2%.
Non-Hispanic whites made
up about 39.9%!
The best way to stop stereotypes
about welfare is to emphasize the
hard realities of the inner city
ghetto and the larger society that
give rise to welfare receipt.
2 Approaches to
Welfare Reform
• One recognizes that although welfare is not
the major cause of urban social dislocation,
efforts should be made to facilitate the
transition from welfare to work (168, Wilson)
• The second is consistent with the view
expressed in the Personal Responsibility Act
(PEA) passed with the Republican “Contract
with America”
Assault on welfare
mothers is part of the
larger reaction to the
problems of the inner city.
Comparisons between the U.S.
and Europe reinforce the
effects of Americans’ belief
in individuality vs. social
structures and cyclical patterns.
Differences between United
States and Europe
• U.S. has not created a comprehensive
program to promote social rights (anti-poverty
campaigns have been narrowly targeted and
fragmented)
• U.S. recognizes no link between social rights
and civil rights
• Housing available for poor in the U.S. limits
the work opportunities of residents
Differences between United
States and Europe
• In Europe, medical care is considered a basic
collective good, whereas in the U.S., it every
man for himself
• Europe seeks consensus strategies to combat a
declining economy
• Europeans focus on changes and inequities in
the broader society rather than on individual
behaviors and deficiencies, as in the U.S.
Signs of Trouble
Europe has had increasing economic and social
changes that have caused the beginnings of
urban social dislocation. The latest changes in
urban Europe have created situations ripe for
demagogic mobilization of racism and antiimmigrant feelings. As the economy is
suffering, the majority of the white population in
Europe is beginning to view the growth of
minorities as part of the problem.
Although Europe is experiencing an increase in
tensions between Caucasians and other ethnic
and racial groups, in the U.S., there has been
an increase in inter-racial conflicts,
particularly between Black Americans and
Latino Americans, Korean Americans, and
low-income White Americans.
The interaction between political
policies and economic and social
processes directly and indirectly
affect the racial antagonisms in
urban America.
Affirmative
Action
The NEW
Affirmative
Action
Proposal for New
Affirmative
Action Program
“Are we condemned to choose between more
jobs but greater inequality and insecurity, as
we have in this country, or better jobs but
higher unemployment and a thicker social
safety net, as in Europe?”
-- Robert Reich
Wilson’s Proposed Solutions
LONG-TERM
SHORT-TERM
Equal and improved
public education
Family support policies
that reinforce learning
City-suburb cooperation
and integration
Job information and
placement centers
Subsidized car pools in
the ghetto
WPA-style public works
programs
“We must break the cycle of
joblessness and improve the
youngsters’ preparation for
the new labor market in the
global economy.”
(238, Wilson)
Thank you all
for your time!