Rugged Individualism and the Misunderstanding of American Inequality

Häftad, Engelska, 2022

AvLawrence M. Eppard,Mark Robert Rank,Heather E. Bullock

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Rugged Individualism and the Misunderstanding of American Inequalityexplores and critiques the widespread perception in the United States that one’s success or failure in life is largely the result of personal choices and individual characteristics. As the authors show, the distinctively individualist ideology of American politics and culture shapes attitudes toward poverty and economic inequality in profound ways, fostering social policies that de-emphasize structural remedies. Drawing on a variety of unique methodologies, the book synthesizes data from large-scale surveys of the American population, and it features both conversations with academic experts and interviews with American citizens intimately familiar with the consequences of economic disadvantage. This mixture of approaches gives readers a fuller understanding of “skeptical altruism,” a concept the authors use to describe the American public’s hesitancy to adopt a more robust and structurally-oriented approach to solving the persistent problem of economic disadvantage.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2022-03-04
Mått155 x 219 x 16 mm
Vikt399 g
FormatHäftad
SpråkEngelska
Antal sidor302
FörlagAssociated University Presses
ISBN9781611462364

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Sociala grupper och identitet inom Samhälle och politik

Chapter 1The Problem with American IndividualismPART I: Social Science Perspectives Chapter 2The American Inequality Palette Chapter 3Social Psychological Functions of Inequality BeliefsChapter 4In ConversationPART II: Individualism on the Ground Chapter 5Cleaning the Ivory TowerChapter 6Paved with Good IntentionsPART III: The Big PictureChapter 7Inequality Beliefs and Social JusticeAfterwordReferencesIndexAbout the Authors

Despite this text's range of authors and contributors, including Henry Giroux and Noam Chomsky, the book's main thrust is social psychological. It surveys recent writing and research that outlines and seeks to explain why the US is an outlier among affluent (principally European) nations in its minimalist approach to social programs and policies to mitigate poverty. Though recognizing that racism, i.e., the popular view that “redistribution favors racial minorities,” has always infested policy choices and that the US “political system is geared towards preventing redistribution,” the authors emphasize individualism as the force that explains cross-national differences. This ideology is reinforced by an “underdeveloped non-individualistic vocabulary” and an unpopular sociological counter-narrative. System-justification research is cited to explain why “low-income and working-class people endorse hierarchy-enhancing beliefs that go against their own self-interest,” a concept also explored in Thomas Frank's What’s the Matter with Kansas? (2004). . . its many voices make this a useful text that raises fundamental questions about inequality beliefs. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through graduate students.

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