Lie bow’s analysis of time perspective exemplifies his aim to see the world through the eyes of the actors. He notes that one theory explains lower-class behaviour in terms of a detect-the absence of a well-developed future time orientation.
Leibow attempts to understand the same behaviour not from the standpoint of a theory but from that of the men. He takes the side of his subjects and tries to persuade the reader also to see through their eyes: “When Richard squanders a week’s pay in two days it is not because, like an animal or a child, he is present-time oriented, unaware of or unconcerned with his future. He does so precisely because he is aware of the future and the hopelessness of it.”