Overview

Inequality is widening. In the twenty-first century, the gap between those who have more and those who have less is growing: 1 per cent of the world owns as much as the other 99 per cent. Should we be worried? Christopher Steed, author of the acclaimed A Question of Worth, argues that inequality does indeed matter: that economic fairness is one of the defining issues of our time. In a world conditioned by social media, enabling intensified social comparison, the anxieties and effects of contemporary inequality are a cause for huge concern. Despite a wealth of research around inequality most studies have concentrated on its quantitative aspects. In A Question of Inequality, Christopher Steed is concerned with exploring why inequality matters, what it means for those who find themselves victims of it, and what can be done about it. He probes what it means to experience inequality, drawing out case studies on the effects of poverty. In proposing a theory of social relativity the author provides new insights into the effects and meaning of inequality and makes an original and important contribution to a key issue facing the world today.

Full Product Details

Author:   Dr Christopher Steed
Publisher:   Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Imprint:   I.B. Tauris
Weight:   0.367kg
ISBN:  

9780755601813

ISBN 10:   0755601815
Pages:   256
Publication Date:   23 January 2020
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Setting the Scene Part I. Landscapes of Inequality 1. A Tale of Two Cities 2. Winners, Losers and New Class Divides 3. Global Divides 4. Half the World: Identity Wars 5. War on the Skin 6. Intact Bodies, Wounded History Part II. Why We Should Not Just Accept Inequality 7. Moral Outrage: Religious and Philosophical Arguments 8. Why Inequality Matters: Economic and Practical Arguments 9. The Argument from Intensified Social Comparison 10. The Psychodynamic Argument: Marx versus Freud Part III. Clarifying Social Dynamics of Inequality: Notes on a Theory 11. A Theory of Social Relativity 12. The Politics of Positions 13. Understanding the Triggers: Indifference, Indignity and Inequality 14. Inequality’s Inner Thread: Towards a New Social Category 15. The Effect of Inequality: Demoralisation, Resignation and the Protest 16. The Politics of Equal Worth Notes Index

Reviews

Viewing inequality in the 21st century through a different lens, this is a timely and insightful book ... Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals; general readers. * CHOICE * A genuinely essential book ... Deploying social science, psychology, ethics and theology together, Chris Steed gives us cause for hope as well as anxiety. -- Rowan Williams, Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge, former Archbishop of Canterbury `A deeply thoughtful and challenging book' -- Matthew Taylor, Chief Executive, RSA , former Chief Adviser on Strategy to Prime Minister Tony Blair

Author Information

Christopher Steed is a research fellow at Southampton University. He spent twelve years in Whitehall, where he worked on trade policy towards South Africa during the Thatcher years and deindustrialisation. He has twenty years’ experience as a parish priest and currently works for the Diocese of Winchester. A qualified psychotherapist and counsellor, he holds doctorates in sociology and education from the University of Exeter, and in theology and history from Trinity College, USA. He has worked in education and in senior management roles in not-for-profit organisations. He is the author of A Question of Worth (I.B.Tauris, 2016).

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