Why Social Justice Matters

Häftad, Engelska, 2005

Av Brian Barry

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In the past twenty years, social injustice has increased enormously in Britain and the United States, regardless of the party in power. At the same time, the idea of social justice itself has been subverted, as the mantras of personal responsibility and equal opportunity have been employed as an excuse for doing nothing about the enrichment of the few at the expense of the many and for making ever harsher demands on the poor and vulnerable. With grace and wit, Brian Barry exposes the shoddy logic and distortion of reality that underpins this ideology. Once we understand the role of the social structure in limiting options, we have to recognize that really putting into practice ideas such as equal opportunity and personal responsibility would require a fundamental transformation of almost all existing institutions.Barry argues that only if inequalities of wealth and income are kept within a narrow range can equal prospects for education, health and autonomy be realized. He proposes a number of policies to achieve a more equal society and argues that they are economically feasible. But are they politically possible? The apparent stability of the status quo is delusory, he responds: radical changes in our way of life are unavoidable. Whether these changes are for better or for worse depends partly on the availability of a coherent set of principles and a programme flowing from them that is capable of mobilizing the growing discontent with business as usual. That is, ultimately, why social justice matters.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2005-01-01
Mått152 x 229 x 20 mm
Vikt553 g
FormatHäftad
SpråkEngelska
Antal sidor336
FörlagJohn Wiley and Sons Ltd
ISBN9780745629933

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Preface viiPart I Social Justice: The Basics1 Why We Need a Theory 32 The Machinery of Social Injustice 143 The Scope of Social Justice 27Part II Equality of Opportunity4 Why Equal Opportunity? 375 Education 466 Health 707 The Making of the Black Gulag 95Part IV The Cult of Personal Responsibility10 Responsibility versus Equality? 13111 Rights and Responsibilities 14212 Irresponsible Societies 154Part V The Demands of Social Justice13 Pathologies of Inequality 16914 Wealth 18615 Jobs and Incomes 20016 Can We Afford Social Justice? 215Part VI The Future of Social Justice17 The Power of Ideas 23318 How Change Happens 24319 Meltdown? 25120 Justice or Bust 261Notes 274Index 311

“A brilliant polemic against inequality.”Roy Hattersley, The Guardian “Barry's pugnacious defence of a robust social democracy deserves to find a wide readership ... for disillusioned social democrats, Why Social Justice Matters stands as a refreshingly staunch and intelligent manifesto.”New Statesman“Barry's writing is extremely engaging. His arguments are supported by a wide range of examples and illustrations and an impressive breadth of scholarship.”Ethics and Social Welfare“This book is a powerful argument against the utter inequity of the current political and economic system in the UK and against the way in which a discourse of ‘equal opportunities’ is used to maintain what Barry describes as the ‘machinery of injustice’. In this extraordinarily simple and lucid book, Barry weaves striking threads of supporting evidence, anecdotes, quotations and statistics together to encourage us to insist that another (just) world is not only possible but that an unjust world cannot endure.”British Journal of Sociology“Barry persuasively argues that differentials in positional goods allow the rich to have better personal health due to higher self-esteem, better access to more fulfilling jobs due to a wealth of social connections, and greater ability to capture the government and use it to secure their own interests.”Utilitas