Urban Poverty and Human Dignity

This publication is a collection of the contributions made by a number of scholars from a variety of countries to a study group on the question of poverty, with specific reference to urban realities typical of highly industrialized societies. The objective of this publication is not, however, merely that of providing a descriptive analysis of the different ways in which poverty manifests itself in what remains of the twentieth century.

These studies are situated in a particularly significant moment of history, that is, in the most advanced stage in the crisis of the classic Welfare State model. Moreover, we are witnessing the emerging of a new strategy for the rationalization of production and consumer models, which presents clear implications for both employment and income distribution.

The crisis of the Welfare State evidently implies the need for a complete rethinking of the Welfare State itself. This does not imply, as has been suggested that it should be declared extinct, but rather that new modes of intervention should be created, by dismantling the self-centred procedures of social services. We have illustrated this argument thoroughly in the recently published volume Le radici dell'impoverimento (Guidicini e Pieretti). The fact is that classic Welfare State appears to be increasingly less capable of reaching areas of genuine, profound need, especially areas of extreme poverty. Furthermore, the processes of rationalization under way in the labour market are likely to create new bands and types of poverty, thus rendering even more critical the living conditions of the "overnumbered" (residual bands).

Faced with these two problem areas, in which the common denominator is the need to construct a new philosophy of intervention, the central question becomes that of returning dignity and life space to groups and individuals whose link with the system is becoming increasingly complicated. It is our opinion that giving back dignity to those whom we have defined as the (,residual bands,) of the system should be considered a firm commitment. However, in order to achieve this, we must understand the multiplicity of both the paths of transformation of the city, and the different objective life situations in this phase of rapid transformation. Our main aim in this publication is to better that understanding.