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Inequality in the 21st Century: A Reader
This book provides selections from the seminal works of Karl Marx, Max Weber, W.E.B. Du Bois, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman that reveal some of the reasons why class, race, and gender inequalities have proven very adaptive and can flourish even today in the 21st century.
- GenresNonfiction
506 pages, Paperback
First published January 24, 2006
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
August 15, 2011
Collects essays by half a dozen major progressive economists and sociologists on how we need to change or revamp theoretical/conceptual underpinnings of poverty and inequality research. This was almost completely new stuff to me; will list for my own benefit the main points of each essay:
Intro by Grusky & Kanbur
Historical overview of past few decades of poverty research in economics and sociology.
Amartya Sen
Outlines again need to concentrate on inequality of capabilities/functionings vs. inequality of income, looking especially at how this might affect research on China's economic development, which is characterized both by decreased poverty but increased inequality in a number of different ways. Explains how the idea of relative deprivation has its roots in Adam Smith.
Martha Nussbaum
Looks at Sen's body of writing on inequality, notes his reticence in outlining specific entitlements and capabilities that should be taken into account, proposes her own list.
Bourguignon
Explicates why it is hard to measure this stuff
William Julius Wilson
Review of his theories in The Truly Disadvantaged, call for further study in the way neighborhood effects influence labor market attachment
Douglas Massey
My favorite essay -- easy to read, calm. Reframes the argument for reducing inequality in terms of the market
Martha Albert Fineman
Questions assumptions in political theory about self-sufficiency and dependency -- in fact we all probably spend more of our lives in a dependent state than in a autonomous one. Points out the central importance and devaluation of unpaid caretaking activities, which frequently fall to women more than men.
Intro by Grusky & Kanbur
Historical overview of past few decades of poverty research in economics and sociology.
Amartya Sen
Outlines again need to concentrate on inequality of capabilities/functionings vs. inequality of income, looking especially at how this might affect research on China's economic development, which is characterized both by decreased poverty but increased inequality in a number of different ways. Explains how the idea of relative deprivation has its roots in Adam Smith.
Martha Nussbaum
Looks at Sen's body of writing on inequality, notes his reticence in outlining specific entitlements and capabilities that should be taken into account, proposes her own list.
Bourguignon
Explicates why it is hard to measure this stuff
William Julius Wilson
Review of his theories in The Truly Disadvantaged, call for further study in the way neighborhood effects influence labor market attachment
Douglas Massey
My favorite essay -- easy to read, calm. Reframes the argument for reducing inequality in terms of the market
Martha Albert Fineman
Questions assumptions in political theory about self-sufficiency and dependency -- in fact we all probably spend more of our lives in a dependent state than in a autonomous one. Points out the central importance and devaluation of unpaid caretaking activities, which frequently fall to women more than men.
Displaying 1 of 1 review