Browse

This monograph reports on pioneering research from the ‘Men, Poverty and Lifetimes of Care’ (Leverhulme Trust, 2014-2018) study. It addresses questions concerning the routine care responsibilities of men in low-income localities and the resources and constraints that affect how they ‘do’ family and care on an everyday basis. Drawing on a mix of ethnographic, photographic and interview data generated with twenty-six men in different generational positions living in a Northern city in England, the relational dynamics of low-income family life are examined. The central thesis is that while policy and lay discussions of low-income men emphasise men’s absence, limited empirical focus on the household and on the role of ‘father’ as a generational identity, serves to obscure the variety of ways in which men in low-income families participate in family life in significant ways, at different times. Advancing the concept of family participation, the book reveals the contexts of significant hardship through which men in different generational positions engage in a range of caring practices. At the same time, austerity has entrenched conditions antithetical to these men’s efforts on behalf of their children and grandchildren. The analyses therefore reveal circumstances when men might be more resourced and capable of taking on care responsibilities, but also where state support may be lacking yet much needed. In a context of social ambivalence about men as carers, men with caring responsibilities remain highly isolated and welfare and market provision for ‘caring masculinities’ is neither being produced nor sustained.

In recent years, and particularly since the global economic crash, the issue of debt has moved centre stage in social, political, and economic thought. Although processes of financialisation have meant that extreme indebtedness has been a latent global problem since the 1980s, it was only in the wake of the crash that debt became a manifest systemic issue. This was because it was no longer possible to endlessly defer repayment into the future on the basis of a fantasy of ceaseless growth because it suddenly became clear that the financial system was not good for the debts it had distributed across the globe. Given this crisis, endless finance and repayment projected into the distant future has been transformed into ‘the dead weight of debt’ and led to the emergence of a new class system based upon creditors and debtors. The emergence of this new situation challenges sociologists and policy-makers to think about possible solutions to the socio-economic horror of debt bondage that threatens to destroy the future of not only deeply indebted individuals and their families, but also generations to come who currently stand to inherit a decrepit society that seems hopelessly trapped between a fantasy of endless growth based in financial speculation and a dim recognition of the need for sustainability that finds violent rearticulation in austerity and common sense narratives about the need to balance the books. In this book key thinkers on the topic of debt debate the social, political, and economic, meanings of the state of indebtedness.

In the five years since Money for Everyone was published, the idea of a Citizen's Basic Income has rocketed in interest to an idea whose time has come. In moving the debate from the desirability of a basic income, this fully updated and revised edition now includes comprehensive discussions on feasibility and implementation. Using the consultation undertaken by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales as a basis, the book examines a number of implementation methods for Citizen's Basic Income and considers the cost implications. Including real-life examples from the UK, and data from case studies and pilots in Alaska, Namibia, India, Iran and elsewhere, this is the essential research-based introduction to the Citizen's Basic Income.

There is no precedent to the 2008 economic crisis or its aftermath. The world's most important financial centres all but collapsed under its weight. And some of the world's largest financial institutes either went bust or survived only with massive government bailouts. The impact on social policy has been huge. But the impact of the crisis on national economies and on welfare systems has been far from uniform and predictable. Different economies and different welfare states have been affected at different times, in different ways and to different degrees of magnitude. Bringing together a range of expert contributions, this book argues that the crisis is better understood as a variety of crises, each mediated by its national context. Consequently, there is an array of potential trajectories for welfare systems, from those where social policy is regarded as incompatible with the post-crisis economy to those where it is considered essential to future economic growth and security.

The banking collapse and ensuing global financial crisis has been the subject of much analysis and speculation. One growing certainty is that there will be an impact on the delivery of public services, and on local government and governance. This book examines and debates the challenges posed, on a local, European, and global level, by the imperative to balance a fiscal need for smaller public expenditure with a social need for strong governance and protection of the most vulnerable in UK society. Academics in the field of local governance contribute to a diverse set of analyses on the impact of the financial crisis.

In the wake of the economic crash, public policy is in search of a new moral compass. This book explains why the Third Way's combination of market-friendly and abstract, value-led principles has failed, and shows what is needed for an adequate replacement as a political and moral project. It criticises the economic analysis on which the Third Way approach to policy was founded and suggests an alternative to its legalistic and managerial basis for the regulation of social relations.

Prior to the onset of the recent financial crisis, global trends of social security in industrialised societies were indicating a progressive disengagement of the State in favour of tax-financed measures similar to social assistance, which may fail to ensure a basic standard of living. In this book the author, with his life-long experience of international social security, advocates reinstating social insurance by reducing the volume of income redistribution, increasing the transparency of money flows, and improving citizen information.

Education is a key political issue, and is seen as a crucial factor in ensuring economic productivity and competitiveness. This book offers an analysis of the flood of government initiatives and policies that have been introduced over the past 20 years, including Beacon Schools, the Academies programme, parental choice, Foundation Schools, faith schools, and teaching standards. It looks at the politics of these policy interventions and how they have changed the face of education.

This book confirms the significance of social capital as an analytical tool, while challenging the basis on which current policy is being developed. It offers a wealth of evidence on a topic which has become central to contemporary government; provides a detailed empirical investigation of the relationship between social capital, knowledge creation, and lifelong learning; relates the findings to wider policy debates; questions the dominant theoretical models of social capital; and confronts the assumption of many policy makers that the obvious solution to social problems is to ‘invest in social capital’.

In the UK, both Conservative and New Labour welfare strategies have been influenced by American policies. British welfare reform has continued in recent years, while American policies appear to have stagnated. What now are the lessons of British reform for America? This book presents a detailed and unique comparison of welfare policies in the two countries. Throughout the book, international experts outline, compare, and contrast the reform strategies pursued in each country, and summarise the results to date. The editors argue that recent American reforms have failed to address key problems but that British ideas could refresh the American policy agenda. Moreover, both systems would gain from increased transatlantic policy dialogue.