Losing Ground
Also known as Losing Ground: American Social Policy, 1950–1980
Charles Murray's 1984 argument that US welfare programmes increased poverty.
At a glance
Key ideas
Law of Imperfect Selection, Law of Unintended Rewards, Law of Net Harm
See all 3Reception
Christopher Jencks, Institute for Research on Poverty, Bill Clinton …
See all 4Connections
Also on this page: Key facts · Links · Sources · Related pages
- Murray argues that American welfare programmes tended to increase poverty, because they rewarded short-sighted behaviour that keeps people poor.
- He sets out three laws of social programmes: imperfect selection, unintended rewards and net harm.
- He concludes that such programmes should be eliminated.
- Both its proposals and its method drew significant controversy.
Why it matters
- It was a major influence on the 1990s welfare reform debate.
Key facts
Key ideas
Reception
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Christopher Jencks1
Called it "Social Darwinism" giving moral cover for budget cuts.
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Institute for Research on Poverty1
Rejected its condemnation of the Great Society but agreed a new approach was needed.
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Bill Clinton1
Said in 1993 that Murray's analysis was "essentially right" but asked whether acting on it was morally right.
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Loïc Wacquant1
Said it misread the data on poverty after the 1960s.
Connections
Written by
Links
Sources
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