Overview

Luck greatly influences a person's quality of life. Yet little of our politics looks at how institutions can amplify good or bad luck that widens social inequality. But societies can change their luck. Too often debates about inequality focus on the accuracy of data or modeling while missing the greater point about ethics and exploitation. In the wake of growing disparity between the 1% and other classes, this book combines philosophical insights with social theory to offer a much-needed political economy of life chances. Timcke advances new thought on the role luck plays in redistributive justice in 21st Century capitalism.

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9781529221756

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Timke's book is a theoretically sophisticated engagement with the concepts of luck, inequality and justice; what these mean under capitalism; and, crucially, what they could mean in the pursuit of social justice. A timely read that critically engages and expands the conceptual, philosophical and political boundaries. Carin Runciman, University of Edinburgh Timcke presents a cogent and compelling argument showing the structural opportunism of luck in shaping our understanding of the nature of distributional justice. Gary McCarron, Simon Fraser University Scott Timcke argues that liberalism lacks a good dose of Marxist historical materialism. Coming after the failures and crises of neoliberalism and the Third Way, Timcke's work makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of inequality, challenging assumptions about luck and meritocracy in contemporary capitalist societies. Sean Jacobs, The New School

Author Information

Scott Timcke is Research Associate at the Centre for Social Change at the University of Johannesburg. His research focuses on the transformations of race, class and technology during modernity.

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