Poverty, By America | Matthew Desmond

Poverty, by America

Extended Synopsis

The United States, the richest nation on earth, suffers from higher rates of poverty than any other advanced democracy. In this landmark study, Pulitzer Prize-winning sociologist Matthew Desmond reframes the traditional debate surrounding systemic destitution. Rather than focusing merely on the shortcomings of the economic safety net, Desmond poses a provocative and urgent question: Why does this land of plenty allow one in eight children to go without basic necessities while corporations pay poverty-level wages? The answer, he argues, lies in how affluent and financially secure Americans knowingly and unknowingly benefit from keeping poor people poor.

Through extensive historical research, data-driven analysis, and original field reporting, Poverty, by America reveals the structural exploitation built into modern society. Secure communities benefit from suppressed labor wages, inflated housing markets, and predatory financial services. Furthermore, current economic policy consistently prioritizes the subsidization of accumulated wealth over the true alleviation of hardship, creating zones of concentrated opportunity adjacent to deep deprivation. Desmond makes an ambitious, compassionate case for socioeconomic reform, calling on citizens to become poverty abolitionists and establish a true framework of collective belonging and shared national prosperity.

Reader Targeting

• Readers of contemporary investigative sociology, economic policy analysis, and social justice studies.
• Scholars and students familiar with Desmond's previous award-winning work, Evicted.
• Anyone looking for data-supported arguments regarding systemic wealth disparity and legislative reform in the United States.

Accolades & Awards

• #1 New York Times Bestseller
• Longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence
• Longlisted for the Inc. Non-Obvious Book Award
• Named a Best Book of the Year by The New Yorker, NPR, Time, and The New York Times Book Review
• One of the California Review of Books’ Ten Best Books of the Year

Author Biography

Matthew Desmond is an acclaimed sociologist and professor at Princeton University, where he serves as the principal investigator of the Eviction Lab. He is the author of the critically celebrated, Pulitzer Prize-winning book Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City. A recipient of the MacArthur "Genius" Fellowship, his research focuses deeply on American poverty, urban housing dynamics, and racial inequality.

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