You may not expect a book about poverty to feel personal, but that is exactly what Matthew Desmond manages to do in “Poverty, by America,” published in 2023.
“Poverty, by America” draws on Desmond’s extensive research into the American economic system. Through this work, he attempts to answer a deceptively simple question: why does poverty persist in one of the wealthiest nations on Earth?
Desmond is a sociologist and bestselling author. “Poverty, by America” follows his 2017 Pulitzer Prize-winning work of nonfiction “Evicted.” His latest work tackles poverty as a system in America. Digging into the roots of the issue, and uprooting every weed. In his research, he turns the mirror on the rest of us, not just the people struggling and suffering, but also those who benefit from their struggle.
The core argument of the book is that poverty exists not because of resource scarcity, but because of the choices made by those who benefit from the system. Desmond dives into topics about what poverty is. “Poverty isn’t simply the condition of not having enough money. It’s the condition of not having enough choice and being taken advantage of because of it,” said Desmond.
Throughout the book, Desmond exposes how systems like housing, labor, and health care are structured to serve the most comfortable, often at the expense of those most vulnerable and in need of those systems. He discusses government subsidies, tax breaks, and policies that quietly prop up the wealthy while deepening inequality. Rather than focusing solely on the poor, he shifts the lens to implicate the middle and upper classes as well, those who, knowingly or not, help sustain a system that allows poverty to persist. Desmond argues that complicity in this system isn’t limited to the wealthy and even the middle class often benefits in subtle ways, sometimes without realizing how their comfort is made possible by the struggle of others.
The strengths of the book lie in Desmond’s writing, which is powerful, accessible, and emotionally relevant. He takes complex economics and political systems and makes them readable, without simplifying the information given. Often relying on a mix of complex data, experiences, and personal anecdotes to keep the reader grounded.
One of the most effective aspects of the book is how Desmond balances his telling of personal stories with a broader critique of the system. The people he interviews provide a sense of depth and relatability to a story and system that often feels so impossibly out of reach. He uses this face-to-face human interaction, balanced with statistics and other real-world examples, to show how economic policies impact lives in a specific, measurable way. His call to action of asking readers to become “poverty abolitionists” is both inspiring and uncomfortable, and that’s the point. He doesn’t just want readers to care; he wants them to act.
Though the book totals 304 pages, much of that is dedicated to sources and notes at the end, making the main content even more focused and easily accessible for readers. If you want to uncover a normally complicated and convoluted system of economics and understand the widespread poverty in America, Matthew Desmond achieves this expertly in his book.