It should be no surprise that when unemployment rates doubled between the late 1960's and the 1980's, poverty did not diminish, confounding the hopes of Great Society planners. Conservative politicians and writers in the 1980's have made this same error, Mr. Wilson argues. From Ronald Reagan to Charles Murray they note that poverty rates are as high now as in the late 1960's and thus proclaim that Great Society programs have failed. Such critics neglect to mention the doubling of unemployment rates and other critical economic changes that have disproportionately affected blacks. IN ''The Truly Disadvantaged,'' Mr. Wilson takes on conservatives, liberals and civil rights leaders alike as he develops persuasive alternative explanations of what has gone wrong in the inner city and supports them with extensive data and research.
Inequality of income is greater now among black families than among white families.
These factors illustrate, Mr. Wilson argues, that the existence of racism does not explain why ghetto conditions have deteriorated. Employment rates for young black men are considerably lower today than in the 1950's and fewer blacks live in two-parent families. In this context, Mr. Wilson examines affirmative action programs, which he regards as necessary to overcome decades of past discrimination. But, he says, they help more educated, skilled and advantaged blacks, while doing little for poor blacks with limited education or training. Civil rights leaders whose agendas are dominated by antidiscrimination and affirmative action efforts are not reaching the black underclass.