Development, Poverty of Culture, and Social Policy

The "cycle of poverty," a myth manufactured and sustained by the Parsonian pundits of social theory and welfare, has blamed the victims of oppression with impunity. Brij Mohan deconstructs Oscar Lewis' Culture of Poverty theory and its applications in the fields of social welfare, policy, and development. Poverty, a global scourge, is defined as a political rather than an economic issue. The implications of this formulation paradigmatically shift the focus of discourse in the social sciences. Development, Poverty of Culture, and Social Policy offers an interdisciplinary analysis of complex issues, constructs, and interventions that deal with human-social problems with global implications. "Poverty of Culture" posits social development theory and practice in a critically important context challenging the scientific orthodoxy of our times.