The Gift of Generations: Japanese and American Perspectives on Aging and the Social Contract

by Akiko Hashimoto

The Gift of Generations is a comparative study of aging and the social contract in Japan and the United States. By using original, systematically comparable data collected in these countries, the book explores the different cultural definitions of vulnerability and giving, and the ways they shape and constrain the social strategies of routinizing helping arrangements. The book succeeds in interweaving the theory and practice of the social contract by developing the concept of symbolic equity.

248 pages, Paperback

First published June 13, 1996

About the author

Akiko Hashimoto is Associate Professor of Sociology and Asian Studies at the University of Pittsburgh.

Reviews

[Chi Pham · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a book that was written more than 25 years ago, the insights did not feel dated at all. The comparative study approach really highlighted the similarities and the differences between the Japanese and American perspectives. As both society have changed and expectations may have been adjusted over the years, I would love to read a follow-up study on this subject.