Power & Inequality

A Comparative Introduction
Erscheinungsjahr 2010
ISBN: 978-0-19-544400-1
Verlag: Oxford University Press, USA

Buch, Englisch, 288 Seiten, Print PDF, Format (B × H): 152 mm x 226 mm, Gewicht: 204 g

This groundbreaking book examines the nature and implications of social inequality in a new and illuminating way. The author examines key measures of social inequality and indicators of poverty across six selected nations - three Anglo-American countries (the US, UK, and Canada), and three Nordic nations (Finland, Norway, and Sweden). Professor Olsen's research shows that while inequality is an inherent and pervasive aspect of capitalism, and while the past few decades have seen sharp rises in inequality across the industrialized world, nonetheless substantial variances between countries continue to exist. In those countries like the US that have most zealously embraced neoliberalism, inequality and poverty have been exacerbated to a much greater degree than is the case in the Nordic lands, which still rank among the most egalitarian of countries. This cross-national variation challenges many prominent classical and contemporary theoretical accounts of inequality, and suggests that high levels of social inequality are neither necessary nor inevitable in advanced capitalist societies. They are, rather, the product of constellations of power and the interactions of social forces. Human beings create social inequality, and human beings possess the power to reduce such inequities.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Olsen, Gregg

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziale Gruppen/Soziale Themen Gewalt und Diskriminierung: Soziale Aspekte
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziale Gruppen/Soziale Themen Soziale Gruppen & Klassen

Inhaltsverzeichnis

- List of Figures

- List of Tables

- Preface and Acknowledgments

- Part I. Considering Inequality: Conceptualization and Comparison

- 1: Understanding Inequality: A Comparative Introduction

- 2: Conceptualizing Equality: Four Ideals

- Part II. Measuring Inequality: Non-Material and Material Indicators

- 3: Material Indicators: Poverty, Income, Wealth, and Social Mobility

- 4: Non-Material Indicators: Rights and Entitlements

- Part III. Explaining Inequality: Theoretical Approaches

- 5: Legitimating Inequality: Sociobiological, Functionalist, and Culturalist Accounts

- 6: Challenging Inequality: Power and Conflict Account

- References

Über Autor(innen)

Gregg M. Olsen is professor of sociology at the University of Manitoba. He specializes in the study of social inequality and its political causes.