Peter Townsend (sociologist)

Peter Brereton Townsend (6 April 1928, Middlesbrough – 8 June 2009, Dursley) was a British sociologist. The last position he held was Professor of International Social Policy at the London School of Economics. He was also Emeritus Professor of Social Policy in the University of Bristol, and was one of the co-founders of the University of Essex. He wrote widely on the economics of poverty and was co-founder of the Child Poverty Action Group.

Quotes

• Poverty can be defined objectively and applied consistently only in terms of the concept of relative deprivation.
  • Poverty in the United Kingdom: A Survey of Household Resources and Standards of Living. University of California Press. 1979. p. 31. ISBN 978-0-520-03976-6. 

• The term is understood objectively rather than subjectively. Individuals, families and groups in the population can be said to be in poverty when they lack the resources to obtain the types of diet, participate in the activities and have the living conditions and amenities which are customary, or are at least widely encouraged or approved, in the societies to which they belong. Their resources are so seriously below those commanded by the average individual or family that they are, in effect, excluded from ordinary living patterns, customs and activities.
  • Poverty in the United Kingdom: A Survey of Household Resources and Standards of Living. University of California Press. 1979. p. 31. ISBN 978-0-520-03976-6. 

External links

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