ABSTRACT
In this chapter we offer a snapshot of poverty and social exclusion in contemporary Britain. The purpose is to show that deprivation, however defined, is severe, thus justifying the analysis of the rest of the book. We also wish to describe some of the particular aspects of deprivation with which low income is associated as results and, to some extent, causes. Further, we describe how poverty affects different social groups differently, in particular, how social oppression renders people more vulnerable to poverty. Making these distinctions helps to locate poverty more concretely in social life; but explanations are developed in Part II.
