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Elite Perceptions of Poverty and Inequality

Elite Perceptions of Poverty and Inequality

Elisa Reis | Mick Moore

(2008)

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Abstract

The researchers who have written this volume are clear not only that mass poverty is still the leading humanitarian crisis in developing countries, but that, if effective policies are to be put in place, the national elites who control governments and economies need to be convinced of both the reasons why reducing poverty is in their own and the national interest, and that public action can make a difference. Remarkably, in the rapidly growing literature on poverty, this volume is the first to use survey techniques to explore Third World elites' attitudes to poverty. Five cases - intended to be broadly representative of the diversity of situations in developing countries - were chosen: Brazil, South Africa, the Philippines, Bangladesh and Haiti. While the authors found major differences in how national elites understand and represent poverty, the classic threats that induced elites in late 19th Century Europe to be concerned with reducing poverty - the fear of crime, epidemics, military weakness or political unrest - do not feature prominently in the consciousness of most Third World elites. Nor do most of them believe that there is a viable solution to poverty through public action. The findings in this book throw light on one reason for the relative ineffectiveness of poverty reduction strategies hitherto, and the huge importance of presenting the problem of poverty in ways that fit more closely with the ways in which national elites understand their world.
Elisa P. Reis is professor of political sociology at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, chair of the Brazilian Interdisciplinary Research Network on Inequality (NIED) and current president of the Research Committee on Sociological Theory of the International Sociological Association. Mick Moore is currently professorial fellow at the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex; and director of the Centre for the Future State.
'Shows that while there are major differences in how national elites understand and represent poverty, the threats that induced elites in late-nineteenth century Europe to be concerned with reducing poverty do not feature prominently in the consciousness of most developing-country elites. Nor do most of them believe that there is a viable solution to poverty through public action.' International Social Security Review

Table of Contents

Section Title Page Action Price
Cover Cover
Contents v
Tables vii
Acknowledgements viii
1 | Elites, perceptions and poverties 1
Elisa Reis and Mick Moore\r 1
Elites 2
Perceptions 3
Motivations 3
Knowledge and policy 6
Political culture 8
Representing the diversity of inequalities 9
Representing the diversity of the South 12
Comparing perceptions 14
What did we find? 17
Organization of the book 20
Notes 21
References 23
2 | Perceptions of poverty and inequality among Brazilian elites 26
Elisa Reis 26
Brazilian social structure in historical perspective 27
Looking at the elite 32
Elite perceptions of poverty and inequality: consensus 34
Elite perceptions of poverty and inequality: variation 48
Brazilian elites in comparative perspective 50
Concluding comments 51
Notes 54
References 55
3 | Voices from the top of the pile: elite perceptions of poverty and the poor in the Philippines 57
Gerard Clarke and Marites Sison\r 57
Research methods 58
Elitism and the national oligarchy 60
Poverty as a problem 63
The root causes of poverty 66
Imagining the poor 69
Looking in the mirror: the elite on the elite 71
Ties that bind: links between the elite and the poor 73
Citizenship and the Filipino elite 75
Institutional responses to poverty 77
Conclusion 80
Annexe: list of interviewees 82
Notes 85
References 89
4 | So near and yet so far: elites and imagined poverty in Bangladesh 91
Naomi Hossain and Mick Moore\r 91
Bangladesh and its elites 91
How do Bangladeshi elites imagine poverty? 97
How do Bangladeshi elites imagine their relationship to the poor? 102
What can be done about poverty? 111
Concluding comment: social consciousness? 119
Notes 120
References 124
5 | Haitian elites and their perceptions of poverty and of inequality 127
Omar Ribeiro Thomaz\r 127
Research 128
From colony to nation: the constitution of contemporary Haiti 128
A contemporary social map 132
The elites and their perceptions of poverty and inequality 136
Final remarks 149
Notes 151
References 154
6 | Elite perceptions of poverty and poor people in South Africa 156
Noushin Kalati and James Manor\r 156
Methodology 156
Profiling poverty and inequality in South Africa 157
Elite perceptions 159
Social segmentation 168
The invisibility of rural poverty 173
Non-ANC elites, resource issues and poverty 174
Implications 176
Notes 179
References 180
7 | Elite perceptions of the poor: reflections on a comparative research project 182
Abram De Swaan\r 182
Note 194
References 194
8 | Elites, poverty and public policy 195
Mick Moore and Naomi Hossain\r 195
Elites, culture and poverty 195
Implications for the contemporary South 198
Fear and opportunity 200
In summary 207
Notes 208
References 210
About the contributors 211
Index 213