The Social Acceptance of Inequality

On the Logics of a More Unequal World
Erscheinungsjahr 2025
ISBN: 978-0-19-781449-9
Verlag: Oxford University Press

Buch, Englisch, 400 Seiten, Format (B × H): 160 mm x 238 mm, Gewicht: 704 g

The world has staggering levels of inequality. Most people worry about this. Some, however, accept or even approve of those inequalities. Why? The Social Acceptance of Inequality offers the first comprehensive analysis of the logics people use in support of economic inequalities. Turning to case studies from across the globe, it examines four primary logics. Market/economic logics see people accept and even approve of economic inequalities because of the positive material outcomes for societies with which they are purportedly associated. Moral logics see people thinking of inequalities as fair according to 'higher' or ethical principles, such as meritocracy. When relying on cultural/institutional logics, people view economic inequalities as consistent with established or emerging outlooks, policies, or organizational arrangements. Using group/ethnic logics, people justify inequalities on the basis of hierarchical distinctions between 'superior' and 'inferior' collectivities.

These logics do not exist in isolation: they often interact with each other, and inevitably function in particular political, economic, and cultural contexts. With contributors from across the world and the social sciences, evidence comes from North and South America, Europe, and Asia. Attention goes not only to those in positions of privilege but also those in vulnerable positions who, despite their conditions, look favorably upon inequalities. With original analyses employing a wealth of methodological approaches, the book offers a compelling investigation of the logics of acceptance, their variations and intersections, and how we may move toward a less unequal world.

Chapter 2 of this work is available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International open access licence. This part of the work is free to read on the Oxford Academic platform and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations

Autoren/Hrsg.

Duina, Francesco

Storti, Luca

Inhaltsverzeichnis

- Chapter 1 Introduction: The Logics of Acceptance

- Part I: Market and Economic Logics

- Chapter 2 Who Accepts Inequality and Why?: Market Logics and the Acceptance of Inequality

- Chapter 3 Stewards of Capital: How Hedge Funds, Venture Capitalists, and Technology Startups Legitimize Inequality

- Chapter 4 Effects of Meaningful Perceived Inequality on Well-Being and the Maintenance (or Challenge) of the Status Quo

- Chapter 5 Accepting Great Wealth Inside the Nordic Model: The Case of Finnish Wealth Tax Reform

- Part II: Moral Logics

- Chapter 6 What We Believe About Inequality Is Paramount: Shared Narratives Despite Diverging Paths in East Asia

- Chapter 7 Linking Beliefs in Meritocracy and Concerns About Inequality: Perceived Inequality as Mediator

- Chapter 8 Justifying Inherited Wealth: A UK Case Study on Conflicting Orders of Worth

- Part III: Cultural and Institutional Logics

- Chapter 9 Why Do Chinese People Accept Income Inequality?: A Political System Justification Theory

- Chapter 10 Labor's Moral Sway in the Era of Union Decline: The Case of the United States

- Chapter 11 Acceptance of Inequality and the American Dream

- Part IV: Group and Ethnic Logics

- Chapter 12 Acceptance of Inequality in the Social Democratic Welfare State: Income Differences, Welfare Chauvinism, and Populism in Sweden

- Chapter 13 Dignifying Economic Inequality: Authoritarian Populist Governance in India

- Chapter 14 Redressing Structural Inequalities of Displace d Women and Girls in Latin America's Protracted Crises

- Chapter 15 Conclusion: From Acceptance Toward a More Equal World?

Über Autor(innen)

Francesco Duina is Charles A. Dana Professor of Sociology at Bates College (USA), where he is also Social Sciences Division Chair (2022-2026).

Luca Storti is Associate Professor of Economic Sociology at the University of Turin (Italy). Luca is also Research Fellow at the Ralph Bunche Institute at CUNY, The Graduate Center (USA).