Stephen Pimpare

Howard Zinn Worthy Populism

I was not aware that they made a series out of Howard Zinn's popular "People's History of America" text. The latest in the series is from scholar Stephen Pimpare called "People's History of Poverty in America." The book is a social history, in many ways a populist history of what life is like for a great majority of Americans who live in relative poverty.

While not explicitly stated, Pimpare's central thesis is to debunk several myths about being poor in America. Myths such as the "Welfare Queen," or the social darwinist myth of lazy blacks and immigrants. The prevailing, and false assumption that poverty is simply a state of mind, a moral failing of the individual. Pimpare seeks to explore the structural inequalities which result in class, racial, and gender oppression.

The historiography is admittedly a little disjointed. The book does not recount poverty in America chronologically but rather he does so thematically. For example, Pimpare uses the setting of the Five Points, America's most famous slum, to show historical continuities between the past and present. As such, many historical details and context are not explained fully, which means that such background is assumed in the reader.

Another prevailing theme throughout the book is Pimpare's relativism. Pimpare rejects the notion of "absolute poverty," rather opting for an interpretation of poverty in relation to fellow human beings. For example, some critics argue that people who own a television or a car today cannot be deemed "poor" because they are certainly "richer" than someone 100 years ago. However, that argument does not hold up when that wealth is contextualized relative to a middle-class American today.

One of the aspects of the book that may or may not frustrate some readers is Pimpare's purposeful inclusion of lengthy blockquotes with little to no contextual explanations. Pimpare's stated intention is to recount the narratives as they are. So that readers are free to interpret them as they see fit. I personally felt this was OK, but I know some may feel it just a bunch of quotes strung together with little or no coherence.

Pimpare does not prescribe to an utopian vision of a society without poverty. But rather he advocates for a practical mutli-faceted approach by targeting several areas at the same time. It would be naive and indeed ignorant to believe that a perfect egalitarian society can be achieved, nor should that be the goal. But certainly we can do a lot more to improve the lot of our fellow persons.

Overall, this is a great book and a great addition to the "People's History" series. Not overly academic, a social history from below, Pimpare does an admirable job to bring to life the stories and oral histories of ordinary Americans just trying to survive.… (mehr)