Poverty, Solidarity, and Poor-Led Social Movements

Abstract

Abstract Poor-led social movements seek to transform the structures that exclude, subordinate, and exploit people who live in poverty. The people in these movements know that durable poverty reduction ultimately depends upon the social and political empowerment of the poor. Yet despite the paradigm-shifting contributions of poor activists, their insights and visions of poverty eradication have been largely neglected in philosophical responses to poverty, which focus instead on the obligations of individuals and institutions in affluent states. The erasure of people living in poverty as central agents of justice puts normative theorists out of step with progressive, pro-poor approaches to poverty reduction and development, and with research on the important role of grassroots social movements in these processes. From rural landless workers in Brazil, to urban shack dwellers in South Africa, to unemployed workers impoverished by neoliberal economic policies in Argentina, poor-led organizations and movements advance a more political understanding of poverty—and of what is needed to eradicate it. Addressed primarily to political theorists and philosophers, this book shows how these groups develop the political consciousness and collective capabilities of poor communities, and help to create the basis for solidaristic action among poor populations. Defending the idea of a political responsibility for solidarity, Deveaux shows how nonpoor outsiders can help to advance a transformative anti-poverty agenda by supporting the efforts of poor-led social movements.

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