Preface<br > This is an ambitious essay. It is ambitious because in it l have<br > tried to go beyond what has already been said on those much-<br > discussed subjects， the poor and their ways of life. Moreover，<br > I have attempted the difficult task of writing both as a scholar<br > and as a citizen， hoping to address not only academic or other<br > specialists but fellow citizens as welk This attempt stems from<br > my strong conviction that there must be many lines of mutual<br > relevance between two spheres that are sometimes artificially<br > separated. The first of these is the realm of fact-finding，<br > systematic knowledge， and theory-building in the human sci-<br >ences. The second is the sphere of social policy， political prob-<br > lems， and ideological issues. So the following pages cont，qin<br >considerable commentary on social problems and questions<br >of value judgment related to poverty. I have tried to highlight<br >some of the many interconneetions of these concerns and the<br >problems of gaining knowledge and understanding of the<br >poor and their place in society. The basic subject matter<br >treated here is the work of professional specialists in several<br >of the .human sciences. Particular attention is given to impli-<br >cations of this work for more general problems that affect<br >everyone in society， directly or indirectly.<br > In addition to being ambitious， this effort is sometimes pre-<br >sumptuous， in the sense of being assertive beyond the bounds<br >of modesty often observed in academic writing. Clearly，<br >many specialists， including a number whose works are analyzed<br >~ritieally in the following chapters， have greater knowledge<br >and experience of various matters discussed here than 1.<br >I have nevertheless presumed to comment， sometimes boldly，<br >