This paper presents a critical analysis of relative deprivation as defined by Townsend (1987, p.125: “a state of observable and demonstrable disadvantage, relative to the local community or the wider society or nation to which an individual, family or group belongs”), which has been widely applied throughout social and health sciences to identify, measure, and explain forms of inequality in human societies based on material and social conditions. Based on a perspective grounded in Aotearoa/New Zealand, where colonisation has shaped the contours of racialised health inequities and current applications and understandings of ‘deprivation’, these researchers suggest alternatives to Townsend’s concept of deprivation that work better towards social justice. They argue that using deprivation measures without critical reflection can result in deficit framing of populations and maintain current inequities in health and social outcomes. Further, they contend that a central concern in studies of deprivation is their lack of consideration of (bio)power, privilege, epistemology and (bio)politics. They challenge the academy to interrogate political economic causes of inequalities and to measure the unequal distribution of power and privilege in populations.
