"With the burgeoning of research and debates on social exclusion, Bill Jordan's book provides a much-needed theory of poverty and social exclusion based not on the relativity of deprivation but on the social and economic relations of power in contemporary industrialized welfare societies." Fiona Williams, University of Leeds "In this book Bill Jordan draws on a rich mix of sources, including public choice theory and his own work on the strategies of excluded households, to shake up tired theories of poverty and to throw light on the future of social policy in the US and Britain (with glances towards Eastern Europe). It is an exhilarating book: learned but impatient, pessimistic but inspiring. An honest attempt to make sense of the turmoil that is social policy today." Ian Gough, University of Bath "This is an important book which makes a valuable contribution to the theoretical debate about poverty and social exclusion. One of the main strengths of this work is its interdisciplinary focus ... this book is a valuable addition to the study of poverty and it is likely to stimulate much debate." British Journal of Sociology "This is an ambitious book which attempts to chart an entirely new course for studies of poverty and social exclusion. There is much to admire in this book. It takes a fresh and illuminating approach which enables a number of important points to be made about the choices facing both individuals and society as a whole. The global and European perspective adds depth to the argument and is also interesting in its own right. I would certainly recommend the book to anyone interested in moving beyond the rather tired circles of debates about poverty and/or social exclusion." Critical Social Policy "The theory is ... original and stimulating and appears to be substantially different from previous theories ... This is a highly stimulating book which often provokes and irritates but never bores the reader." Journal of European Social Policy