Reflections Of Zygmunt Bauman's New Poor Thought

Zygmunt Bauman's new poor thought reveals the poor people's situation in consumer society,which offers a new theoretical analysis for us to understand the poverty and the poor people's situation in capitalist society.Meanwhile,it also offers a new perspective for Marxism to reflect and criticize the new situation in the development of capitalist.Bauman believes that the transformation from productive society to consumer society and the contradiction between the shortage of working positions and the consumer demands are the main causes of the new poor's arising.So that,Bauman understands the connotation of new poor from the view of production and the view of consumption.In the analysis of the transportation of the new poor's social situation,Bauman highlights the features of the situation in consumer society,describes the new poor's social roles in consumer society,and discusses the loss of new poor's political prospects.Bauman argues that the new poor becomes underclass because of lacking "liquidity" in their consuming and acts as stranger whom continually be abandoned in consumer society.Bauman believes that the new poor's infatuation towards consumer freedom,the dispersed class connection in the new poor's class and the ideological rule of work ethic have frustrated the new poor's political prospects and their ability to resist.This paper studies the realistic backgrounds and the theoretical sources of Zygmunt Bauman's new poor thought,and systematically studies the contents and the logical frame of the thought.And then,this paper also comments on Bauman's new poor thought from the perspective of Marxist philosophy.It is believed that Bauman's new poor thought enriches the connotation of poverty and deepens the critical theory of postmodernity and consumer social criticism.But the definition of the "new poor" lacking of emphasis on production factors,and the thought advocates using reformist approaches to eliminate poverty.And the worst of it is,Bauman's new poor thought didn't realize that the new poor is belong to proletariat,and it also lacks understanding to the new poor's subjectivity.