Contemporary social evils
- Author/Editor(s):
- Joseph Rowntree Foundation
- Format:
- Paperback , 256 pages , 234 x 156 mm
- ISBN
- 9781847424082
- Published:
- 11 Jun 2009
£13.49 - List price: £17.99 You save: £4.50
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A splendid series of thought-provoking studies on the social evils of our time, blessedly free of nostalgia, an essential contribution to a much-needed national debate on the society we seek to make for the sake of those who will come after us.
Chief Rabbi, Sir Jonathan Sacks
This is a brave exploration of some of the fundamental assumptions around values and attitudes that we hold, written at an important moment. I commend this timely, intelligent and challenging book.
Clare Tickell, Chief Executive, Action for Children
About This Book
Which underlying problems pose the greatest threat to British society in the 21st century? A hundred years after its philanthropist founder identified poverty, alcohol, drugs and gambling among the social evils of his time, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation initiated a major consultation among leading thinkers, activists and commentators, as well as the wider public. The findings have now been brought together in this fascinating book.Individual contributors range across the political spectrum but the book also reports the results from a web survey and consultation with groups whose voices are less often heard. The results suggest that while some evils - like poverty - endure as undisputed causes of social harm, more recent sources of social misery, such as an alleged rise in selfish consumerism and a perceived decline in personal responsibility and family commitment, attract controversy.
Author Biography
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) funds a large, UK-wide research and development programme. It seeks to understand the root causes of social problems, identify ways of overcoming them and show how social needs can be met in practice. The JRF has started a UK-wide debate to find out what are the social evils of the 21st century.Contents
Foreword Nicholas Timmins
Introduction Julia Unwin
'Social evils' and 'social problems' in Britain since 1904 Jose Harris
Uneasy and powerless: findings from the online consultation Beth Watts and David Utting
Truncated opportunities: eliciting unheard voices on social evils Alice Mowlam and Chris Creegan
Living with social evils: further views from people in disadvantaged groups Chris Creegan, Martha Warrener and Rachel Kinsell
Section 2: Viewpoints
Preface David Utting
A decline of values
Has there been a decline in values in British society? Anthony Browne
Social evils and social good A.C. Grayling
Unkind, risk averse and untrusting: if this is today's society, can we change it? Baroness Julia Neuberger
Distrust
What and who is it we don't trust? Shaun Bailey
Fear and distrust in 21st century Britain Anna Minton
The absence of society
The absence of society Zygmunt Bauman
Individualism
A wrong turn in the search for freedom? Neal Lawson
Individualism and community: investing in civil society Stephen Thake
Inequality
Opportunity and aspiration: two sides of the same coin?
Chris Creegan
Five types of inequality Ferdinand Mount
The poor and the unequal Jeremy Seabrook
Section 3: Reflections
Reflections on social evils and human nature Matthew Taylor
Afterword David Utting
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