underclass
Sign in to savethumb|The term underclass is employed by sociologists such as Dennis Gilbert (sociologist)|Dennis Gilbert to describe the most disadvantaged socio-economic demographic with the least access to scarce resources. In this chart constructed by Gilbert, the American underclass is estimated to constitute roughly 12% of U.S. households (in 1998). The underclass is the segment of the population that occupies the lowest possible position in a class hierarchy, below the core body of the working class. This group is usually considered cut off from the rest of the society.
~27 min read
Article
23 sectionsContents
- History
- Definitions
- Focus on economics
- Focus on space and place
- Focus on behavior
- Controversies amongst definitions
- Characteristics
- Economic characteristics
- Social-psychological characteristics
- Behavioral characteristics
- Ecological (spatial) characteristics
- Potential causes and proposed solutions
- Wilson's diagnosis and prescription
- Massey and Denton's diagnosis and prescription
- Mead's diagnosis and prescription
- Auletta's three typologies of solutions
- Journalism
- Critiques of the concept
- Derogatory and demonizing language
- Homogenizing a heterogeneous group
- Proposed replacement terms
- See also
- References
thumb|The term underclass is employed by sociologists such as Dennis Gilbert (sociologist)|Dennis Gilbert to describe the most disadvantaged socio-economic demographic with the least access to scarce resources. In this chart constructed by Gilbert, the American underclass is estimated to constitute roughly 12% of U.S. households (in 1998). The underclass is the segment of the population that occupies the lowest possible position in a class hierarchy, below the core body of the working class. This group is usually considered cut off from the rest of the society.
The general idea that a class system includes a population under the working class has a long tradition in the social sciences (for example, lumpenproletariat). However, the specific term, underclass, was popularized during the last half of the 20th century, first by social scientists of American poverty, and then by American journalists.