What do you think?
Rate this book
The Social Question in the Twenty-First Century: A Global View
A free open access ebook is available upon publication. Learn more at www.luminosoa.org.
Want, disease, ignorance, squalor, and idleness: first recognized together in mid-nineteenth-century Europe, these are the focus of the Social Question. In 1942 William Beveridge called them the “giant evils” while diagnosing the crises produced by the emergence of industrial society. More recently, during the final quarter of the twentieth century, the global spread of neoliberal policies enlarged these crises so much that the Social Question has made a comeback.
The Social Question in the Twenty-First Century maps out the linked crises across regions and countries and identifies the renewed and intensified Social Question as a labor issue above all. The volume includes discussions from every corner of the globe, focusing on American exceptionalism, Chinese repression, Indian exclusion, South African colonialism, democratic transitions in Eastern Europe, and other phenomena. The effects of capitalism dominating the world, the impact of the scarcity of waged work, and the degree to which the dispossessed poor bear the brunt of the crisis are all evaluated in this carefully curated volume. Both thorough and thoughtful, the book serves as collective effort to revive and reposition the Social Question, reconstructing its meaning and its politics in the world today.
Want, disease, ignorance, squalor, and idleness: first recognized together in mid-nineteenth-century Europe, these are the focus of the Social Question. In 1942 William Beveridge called them the “giant evils” while diagnosing the crises produced by the emergence of industrial society. More recently, during the final quarter of the twentieth century, the global spread of neoliberal policies enlarged these crises so much that the Social Question has made a comeback.
The Social Question in the Twenty-First Century maps out the linked crises across regions and countries and identifies the renewed and intensified Social Question as a labor issue above all. The volume includes discussions from every corner of the globe, focusing on American exceptionalism, Chinese repression, Indian exclusion, South African colonialism, democratic transitions in Eastern Europe, and other phenomena. The effects of capitalism dominating the world, the impact of the scarcity of waged work, and the degree to which the dispossessed poor bear the brunt of the crisis are all evaluated in this carefully curated volume. Both thorough and thoughtful, the book serves as collective effort to revive and reposition the Social Question, reconstructing its meaning and its politics in the world today.
251 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 30, 2019
103 people are currently reading
121 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 4, 2021
This book argues that, contrary to conventional belief, the Global North is "developing" into the Global South, and not the other way around. The "social capitalism" characterized by high union density, high wages, low unemployment, robust social insurance and benefits and stable jobs in the advanced capitalist countries during the mid-20th century is the exception, not the rule, and as neoliberalism rolls back the gains made by organized labor those countries are trending toward a norm experienced by the vast majority in the Global South characterized by extreme precariousness and informal labor. The book covers almost the entire globe by drawing contributions from area studies experts in the various regions. The chapter on Central and Eastern Europe, hidden toward the end, is particularly excellent. The author's analysis of the "return of social Darwinism" in the post-socialist states would make a good companion to Toure Reed's book on race reductionism. Though often dry in statistical data and lacking in story or scene, this book helped clarify the class struggle for me and provided a despairing sketch of the immiseration wrought by capitalism on the laboring poor the world over. It is hard to read this and not come away with your eyes stuck firmly on the ball.
February 8, 2022
The return of the Social Question
An excellent survey of the Social Question, both historically and geographically. Neo-liberals won't like it for sure. Scholarly style. Highly recommended for those interested in politics, economy and social matters with a strong historical background.
An excellent survey of the Social Question, both historically and geographically. Neo-liberals won't like it for sure. Scholarly style. Highly recommended for those interested in politics, economy and social matters with a strong historical background.
Read
August 15, 2022This is not my field, so I am refraining from leaving any star rating, as I am unqualified to judge... But I did find some useful historical info in here. Open access book!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews