馬克思與班雅明分別描述了底層階級在現代社會的生產者與後現代社會的消費者樣貌，前者是工業資本主義下的無產階級，後者是都市景觀中的漫遊者。本研究以臺北市街友為研究對象，使用新民族誌方法，討論街友在工作與消費的日常生活面貌。借用鮑曼的新貧階級概念，從彈性化的就業市場來看，街友是資本主義邊界管理下被社會排除的底層階級，納入企業縮編下無法吞吐的非典勞動人口，也是成就國家福利制度的推手；從過剩的消費社會來看，街友既是接受了降級儀式的集體消費者，也是具有主動性的消費者以及都市漫遊者。本研究以臺北市為田野地點，在S教會與L公園進行街友的日常生活觀察，從工作與消費兩個面向來了解街友的生活樣貌，進而分析他們如何因應底層勞動、消費不足而發展出獨特的生存策略，以回應現實生活的挑戰。

Marx described the proletariat as surplus labor in a capitalist society, and Benjamin defined the underclass as Flâneur. In this paper I draw on ethnographic information on homeless people in the W district of Taipei to address these ideas. Homeless people (which Bauman refers to as the ＂new poor＂) not only represent a population of individuals who are excluded from the labor market, but also consumers who cannot satisfy their individual needs and desires. In reference to the underclass, homeless people include marginalized citizens, the working poor, and people who engage in deviant behaviors-roles needed for boundary maintenance. As deficient consumers, some of the homeless people may be given work in place of relief subsidies, and thus experience degradation in collective consumption. Some become flâneurs who escape from their families and travel within their home cities. This study is an attempt to clarify how homeless people develop specific survival strategies.