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Charles Murray

Losing Ground: American Social Policy, 1950-1980, 10th Anniversary Edition Paperback – January 1, 1994

by Charles Murray (Author)

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Losing Ground: American Social Policy, 1950-1980
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This classic book serves as a starting point for any serious discussion of welfare reform. Losing Ground argues that the ambitious social programs of the1960s and 1970s actually made matters worse for its supposed beneficiaries, the poor and minorities. Charles Murray startled readers by recommending that we abolish welfare reform, but his position launched a debate culminating in President Clinton's proposal “to end welfare as we know it.”

Print length

346 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Basic Books
Publication date

January 1, 1994
Dimensions

5.98 x 0.87 x 9.02 inches
ISBN-10

0465042333
ISBN-13

978-0465042333
Lexile measure

1300L
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Murray, coauthor of The Bell Curve, argued that the social programs of the '60s and the '70s worsened the plight of the poor and minorities. This 10th anniversary issue includes a new introduction by the author.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Charles Murray is a Bradley Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. He is also the author of The Bell Curve.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Basic Books; Anniversary edition (January 1, 1994)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 346 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0465042333
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0465042333
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 1300L
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.03 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.98 x 0.87 x 9.02 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,539,994 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #4,562 in Social Services & Welfare (Books)
- #8,567 in African History (Books)
- #8,951 in Black & African American Biographies

Customer Reviews:
167 ratings

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Charles Murray

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Charles Murray is a political scientist, author, and libertarian. He first came to national attention in 1984 with the publication of "Losing Ground," which has been credited as the intellectual foundation for the Welfare Reform Act of 1996. His 1994 New York Times bestseller, "The Bell Curve" (Free Press, 1994), coauthored with the late Richard J. Herrnstein, sparked heated controversy for its analysis of the role of IQ in shaping America's class structure. Murray's other books include "What It Means to Be a Libertarian" (1997), "Human Accomplishment" (2003), "In Our Hands" (2006), and "Real Education" (2008). His 2012 book, "Coming Apart" (Crown Forum, 2012), describes an unprecedented divergence in American classes over the last half century. His most recent book is "By the People: Rebuilding Liberty Without Permission" (Crown Forum, 2015).

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ImeldamarcosII

Every adult needs to read this book.

Reviewed in the United States on July 28, 2017

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I read this because it is an historically important book. It's pretty dry and depressing and unfortunately nobody has been able to dispute the depressing social slide rather than improvement for the underclass since Federal government anti-poverty programs began in the early sixties. The main point made by the author is that so much of the anti poverty programs have very real negative incentives to milk them rather than work and this effect is destroying communities and is being ignored by liberal interest groups that are more interested in what is supposed to happen versus what is really happening. His prescriptive social policy seems harsh but his analysis of what has actually resulted from all the government help is brilliantly argued and backed with a deluge of statistics.

27 people found this helpful

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James Williams, Ph.D.

A Must Read

Reviewed in the United States on July 3, 2021

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As this book illustrates, Murray has been identifying the problems in the US for decades. Losing Ground is yet another indictment of government-imposed social policies that do more harm than good but once implemented are nearly impossible to jettison. Worth noting is that the US poverty rate was falling rapidly from 1941 to 1965, when the Johnson administration's entitlement programs really took off. Since then, the poverty rate has hovered around 15% without any significant drop. Stated simply, we have a permanent proverty class.

One person found this helpful

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Joan

It is a detailed analysis of why despite the Great Society and trillions spent on our programs

Reviewed in the United States on April 26, 2017

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This is a must read for every voter in America. It is a detailed analysis of why despite the Great Society and trillions spent on our programs, we actually find ourselves in a worse position. What's going on? This book explains it. I plan on handing my copy to my Congressman.

19 people found this helpful

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David

Amazing

Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2018

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Charles Murray proves why he is the most important social scientist on the planet. He demonstrates through clear evidence that wealth redistribution is good at only one thing... creating more poverty.

13 people found this helpful

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Long term customerTop Contributor: Star Trek

very interesting

Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2012

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In my quest to understand the history of welfare, I read most of this today and found the author's arguments fairly compelling. The author makes a good case for his conclusions regarding the negative social effects of various governmental policies, especially during the 1960's when welfare skyrocketed. In this book we learn why that may have been the case. Some of the extensive graphs and statistics are a bit difficult to plow through, but the overall effect is convincing.This author has been accused of being a racist in some of his other books and a race figures heavily in this book as well, however the author makes his case here for human behavior regardless of race.

23 people found this helpful

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Cee Bee

An eye opener

Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2020

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Mr. Murray's book on American social policy discussed many reasons as to why various policies that were implemented to help the poor actually became detrimental and ineffective. One may not totally agree with his opinion and solution to such issues but his book will open your eyes.

One person found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Required reading very informative

Reviewed in the United States on October 3, 2019

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Charles Murray is required reading for a class in Public Policy through Liberty University and well worth the read. He is very insightfull and although the material is over 30 years old it still resonates with today's social policy arena. Glad I purchased instead of renting for class as I will be able to reference his work throughout my degree program.

3 people found this helpful

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JB

This is why they shouldn't be here

Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2019

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These people who were the target of the welfare programs have destroyed our people and civilization. There never would have been an option to become a degenerate if it wasn't for them.

6 people found this helpful

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Neil Osborne

Still Losing Ground

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 10, 2017

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This classic critique of the welfare state reviews the impact of welfare programmes in the USA over the period 1950 to 1980. It was written in 1984 and influenced policymakers in the USA and UK in the 1980s.

Money and status are the most influential rewards that society uses to manage behaviour. The book explains in detail the point that the welfare state reduces the economic penalty of not working by providing an income to non-workers. It also goes on to look at the often overlooked point that the welfare state has eroded the status benefits to working as well. There used to be moral approbation associated with self-reliance and to be a recipient of welfare was degrading. As the number of people on welfare has risen the stigma attached to welfare and the status benefit of working have both decreased. We have similarly lost the useful distinction between the deserving poor and the undeserving poor.

Although the book was written in 1984 it remains relevant today. The number of people claiming welfare benefits continues to grow despite economic growth, so we are still losing ground.

The book does not cover workfare. For a discussion of workfare from the 1980s see Beyond Entitlement by Laurence M. Mead.

One person found this helpful

Ms. H. C. Swindells

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 29, 2015

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A brilliant analysis of why the traditional nuclear family has been damaged in America.

Elias Samaha

Excellent Book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 30, 2013

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A required reading for all those libtard do-gooders who are racking up government debt for future generations while achieving none of their stated objectives. Murray conclusively proves that the biggest victims of welfare statism are the very people that it is intended to help.

2 people found this helpful

Ethem S.

Die Tücken des Sozialstaats: Intention vs Realität

Reviewed in Germany on August 28, 2021

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Ein geniales Buch, das aufzeigt, wie der Sozialstaat denjenigen am meisten schadet, denen er vorgibt zu helfen.

Im ersten Kapitel beschreibt Murray, wie sich die gesellschaftliche Einstellung in den USA im 20. JH verändert hat. Bis in die 50er galt das System als selbstkorrigierend und Arme wurden als keine eigene Gruppe angesehen, weil jeder arm war. Das entwickelte sich zu „hand, not a handout“ und das wiederum zu bedingungsloser Generosität. Abhängig zu sein war kein Stigma mehr, sondern jedermanns gutes Recht.
Anfangs war Veraagen jedermanns eigener Fehler, nach der Great Society Reform der Johnson Regierung war das System schuld.

Im zweiten Kapitel beschreibt er die katastrophalen Folgen, die dieser Gesinnungswechsel und Transferzahlungen hatten. Arbeitslosigkeit, laborforce participation, Unehelichkeit, Teenager-Geburten, Kriminalität, Bildung und Familienzusammenhalt. Allesamt Statistiken, die seit Jahrzehnten Jahr für Jahr besser wurden. Sofort bei Einführung stoppten diese positiven Entwicklungen und verschlechterten sich wieder. Manchmal für die Weißen, selten für Reichen, aber IMMER für die schwarzen Armen. Heute weiß man, was Murray 1980 nicht wissen konnte: der Sozialstaat hat die schwarze Familie komplett zerstört. 70% der Kinder werden in Familien ohne Mann geboren, mit desaströsen Folgen.

Ab dann zeigt Murray in verschiedenen, sehr gelungenen Gedankenexperimenten, wieso staatliche Transfers gar nicht funktionieren können. Besonders das Beispiel mit einem Versuch, Zigarettenkonsum zu reduzieren, ist beeindruckend und erinnert mich an Hayeks Erkenntnis, dass der Mensch viel weniger lenken kann als er sich anmaßt.

Insgesamt ein grandioses Buch, das man gut an einem Wochenende lesen kann. Murray schreibt verständlich. Er verwendet tolle Grafiken und originelle Argumente. Ich habe viel gelernt und erkenne vieles von dem, worüber auch Sowell schreibt, in Murray’s Buch wieder. Mit Sowells Brillianz kann sich niemand messen, aber Murray bietet sehr spannende Einblicke in eine Idee, die toll klingt, aber sich in Realität als fatal entpuppt hat.

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HG

Sehr fundierte grundsätzliche Kritik am Sozialstaat

Reviewed in Germany on March 15, 2013

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Besonders der empirischen Teil ist sehr hilfreich. Die Schlussfolgerungen über die Fehlentwicklungen des Sozialstaates sind eins zu eins auf die heutige Zeit und auch auf die Bundesrepublik übertragbar.

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