Is Inequality in America Irreversible?

Is Inequality in America Irreversible? PDF Author: Chuck Collins
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1509522549
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 140

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Book Description
We are living in a time of extreme inequality: America’s three richest people now own as much wealth as the bottom half of the population. Although most accept that this is grotesque, many politicians accept it as irreversible. In this book, leading US researcher and activist Chuck Collins succinctly diagnoses the drivers of rampant inequality, arguing that such disparities have their roots in 40 years of the powerful rigging the system in their favor. He proposes a far-reaching policy agenda, analyzes the barriers to progress, and shows how transformative local campaigns can become a national movement for change. This book is a powerful analysis of how the plutocracy sold us a toxic lie, and what we can do to reverse inequality.

Crisis and Inequality

Crisis and Inequality PDF Author: Mattias Vermeiren
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1509537708
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 326

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Book Description
Spiralling inequality since the 1970s and the global financial crisis of 2008 have been the two most important challenges to democratic capitalism since the Great Depression. To understand the political economy of contemporary Europe and America we must, therefore, put inequality and crisis at the heart of the picture. In this innovative new textbook Mattias Vermeiren does just this, demonstrating that both the global financial crisis and the European sovereign debt crisis resulted from a mutually reinforcing but ultimately unsustainable relationship between countries with debt-led and export-led growth models, models fundamentally shaped by soaring income and wealth inequality. He traces the emergence of these two growth models by giving a comprehensive overview, deeply informed by the comparative and international political economy literature, of recent developments in the four key domains that have shaped the dynamics of crisis and inequality: macroeconomic policy, social policy, corporate governance and financial policy. He goes on to assess the prospects for the emergence of a more egalitarian and sustainable form of democratic capitalism. This fresh and insightful overview of contemporary Western capitalism will be essential reading for all students and scholars of international and comparative political economy.

Collateral Damage

Collateral Damage PDF Author: Zygmunt Bauman
Publisher: Polity
ISBN: 0745652948
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 188

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Book Description
Zygmunt Bauman is one of the most original and influential social thinkers of our time. This new book focuses on social inequality.

Living Well at Others' Expense

Living Well at Others' Expense PDF Author: Stephan Lessenich
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1509525653
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 206

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Book Description
At the heart of developed societies lies an insatiable drive for wealth and prosperity. Yet in a world ruled by free-market economics, there are always winners and losers. The benefits enjoyed by the privileged few come at the expense of the many. In this important new book, Stephan Lessenich shows how our wealth and affluence are built overwhelmingly at the expense of those in less-developed countries and regions of the world. His theory of ‘externalization’ demonstrates how the negative consequences of our lifestyles are directly transferred onto the world’s poorest. From the destruction of habitats caused by the massive increase in demand for soy and palm oil to the catastrophic impact of mining, Lessenich shows how the Global South has borne the brunt of our success. Yet, as we see from the mass movements of people across the world, we can no longer ignore the environmental and social toll of our prosperity. Lessenich’s highly original account of the structure and dynamics of global inequality highlights the devastating consequences of the affluent lifestyles of the West and reminds us of our far-reaching political responsibilities in an increasingly interconnected world.

The Wealth Hoarders

The Wealth Hoarders PDF Author: Chuck Collins
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1509543503
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description
For decades, a secret army of tax attorneys, accountants and wealth managers has been developing into the shadowy Wealth Defence Industry. These ‘agents of inequality’ are paid millions to hide trillions for the richest 0.01%. In this book, inequality expert Chuck Collins, who himself inherited a fortune, interviews the leading players and gives a unique insider account of how this industry is doing everything it can to create and entrench hereditary dynasties of wealth and power. He exposes the inner workings of these “agents of inequality”, showing how they deploy anonymous shell companies, family offices, offshore accounts, opaque trusts, and sham transactions to ensure the world’s richest pay next to no tax. He ends by outlining a robust set of policies that democratic nations can implement to shut down the Wealth Defence Industry for good. This shocking exposé of the insidious machinery of inequality is essential reading for anyone wanting the inside story of our age of plutocratic plunder and stashed cash.

The Digital Divide

The Digital Divide PDF Author: Jan van Dijk
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1509534466
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 164

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Book Description
Contrary to optimistic visions of a free internet for all, the problem of the ‘digital divide’ – the disparity between those with access to internet technology and those without – has persisted for close to twenty-five years. In this textbook, Jan van Dijk considers the state of digital inequality and what we can do to tackle it. Through an accessible framework based on empirical research, he explores the motivations and challenges of seeking access and the development of requisite digital skills. He addresses key questions such as: Does digital inequality reduce or reinforce existing, traditional inequalities? Does it create new, previously unknown social inequalities? While digital inequality affects all aspects of society and the problem is here to stay, Van Dijk outlines policies we can put in place to mitigate it. The Digital Divide is required reading for students and scholars of media, communication, sociology, and related disciplines, as well as for policymakers.

Born on Third Base

Born on Third Base PDF Author: Chuck Collins
Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing
ISBN: 1603586830
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 290

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Book Description
"With the heart of an agitator and the soul of a storyteller, inequality expert Chuck Collins upends our assumptions about America's deep wealth divide - one that, for the first time in recent history, locks the nation's youth into a future defined by their class and wealth at birth; limits our ability to address crises like climate change; and creates a world that no one, not even the rich, will ultimately want to live in. In [this book], Collins calls for an end to class war, busts the myths that define our views of rich and poor, and offers bold new solutions for bridging the economic divide and re-engaging the wealthy in rebuilding communities for a resilient future."--

Is the American Century Over?

Is the American Century Over? PDF Author: Joseph S. Nye, Jr.
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0745696511
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 152

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Book Description
For more than a century, the United States has been the world's most powerful state. Now some analysts predict that China will soon take its place. Does this mean that we are living in a post-American world? Will China's rapid rise spark a new Cold War between the two titans? In this compelling essay, world renowned foreign policy analyst, Joseph Nye, explains why the American century is far from over and what the US must do to retain its lead in an era of increasingly diffuse power politics. America's superpower status may well be tempered by its own domestic problems and China's economic boom, he argues, but its military, economic and soft power capabilities will continue to outstrip those of its closest rivals for decades to come.

Solidarity Economics

Solidarity Economics PDF Author: Manuel Pastor
Publisher: Polity
ISBN: 9781509544073
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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Book Description
Traditional economics is built on the assumption of self-interested individuals seeking to maximize personal gain. This is far from the whole story, however: sharing, caring and a desire to uphold the collective good are also powerful individual motives. In a world wracked by inequality, social divisions, and ecological destruction, can we build an alternative economics based on our mutual co-operation? In this book Chris Benner and Manuel Pastor invite us to imagine and create a new sort of solidarity economics – an approach grounded in our instincts for connection and community – and in so doing, actually build a more robust, sustainable, and equitable economy. They argue that our current economy is already deeply dependent on mutuality, but that the inequality and fragmentation created by the status quo undermines this mutuality and with it our economic wellbeing. They outline the theoretical framing, policy agenda, and social movements we need to revive solidarity and apply it to whole societies. Solidarity Economics is an essential read for anyone who longs for an economy that can generate prosperity, provide for all, and preserve the planet.

An Introduction to Feminist Philosophy

An Introduction to Feminist Philosophy PDF Author: Alison Stone
Publisher: Polity
ISBN: 0745638821
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 249

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Book Description
This is the first book to offer a systematic account of feminist philosophy as a distinctive field of philosophy. The book introduces key issues and debates in feminist philosophy including: the nature of sex, gender, and the body; the relation between gender, sexuality, and sexual difference; whether there is anything that all women have in common; and the nature of birth and its centrality to human existence. An Introduction to Feminist Philosophy shows how feminist thinking on these and related topics has developed since the 1960s. The book also explains how feminist philosophy relates to the many forms of feminist politics. The book provides clear, succinct and readable accounts of key feminist thinkers including de Beauvoir, Butler, Gilligan, Irigaray, and MacKinnon. The book also introduces other thinkers who have influenced feminist philosophy including Arendt, Foucault, Freud, and Lacan. Accessible in approach, this book is ideal for students and researchers interested in feminist philosophy, feminist theory, women's studies, and political theory. It will also appeal to the general reader.