Understanding poverty in an affluent society: ATD Fourth World surveys (1960s-1970s)

In the early 1960s, poverty in France was still widely perceived as having disappeared, or as being destined to vanish thanks to economic prosperity and the welfare state. For academics, poverty was a non-issue and was no longer considered a key focus for the public authorities. At the crossroads of the history of poverty and the history of science, this paper draws on the archives of the International Movement ATD Fourth World, a nonprofit organisation dedicated to eradicating poverty, in order to investigate the revival of French research on poverty in an affluent society. Civil society played a fundamental role, combining a wide array of inspirations and methods, open to foreign experiences and forging links with the academic world. The aim was both to improve practices on the ground and to foster advocacy that could – and would – lead to major political changes.