Entitlement and justice

Abstract

Drawing on interviews with people living and working in ‘disadvantaged’ Australian suburbs, this article focuses on how disadvantaged people must prove ‘entitlement’, most often through a stylised performance of ‘undeserved’ suffering which in turn reinforces a definition of need based upon character. These stylised narratives of suffering, and the stories of heroism which complement them, emerge from a local ‘war of words’. The article argues that these stories are a complex and difficult resource for urban analysts and that other, more submerged, narratives must also be incorporated in any account of poverty and injustice.

Key words:

• social justice
• poverty
• welfare
• narrative
• oral history