This book examines the interface between Buddhism and the caste system in India. It discusses how Buddhism in different stages, from its early period to contemporary forms-Theravada, Mahayana, Tantrayana and Navayana-dealt with the question of caste. It also traces the intersections between the problem of caste with those of class and gender. The volume reflects on the interaction between Hinduism and Buddhism: it looks at critiques of caste in the classical Buddhist tradition while simultaneously drawing attention to the radical challenge posed by Dr B. R. Ambedkar's Navayana Buddhism or neo-Buddhism. The essays in the book further compare approaches to varna and caste developed by modern thinkers such as M. K. Gandhi and S. Radhakrishnan with Ambedkar's criticisms and his departures from mainstream appraisals. With its interdisciplinary methodology, combining insights from literature, philosophy, political science and sociology, the volume explores contemporary critiques of caste from the perspective of Buddhism and its historical context. By analyzing religion through the lens of caste and gender, it also forays into the complex relationship between religion and politics, while offering a rigorous study of the textual tradition of Buddhism in India. This book will be useful to scholars and researchers of Indian philosophy, Buddhist studies, Indology, literature (especially Sanskrit and Pali), exclusion and discrimination studies, history, political studies, women studies, sociology, and South Asian studies.

This project provides an in-depth study of the role of worker-activist leaders in industrial strikes in China, a country where labor rights face significant challenges from state and industry suppression and by current lack of formal organization.

Based on extensive survey data, this book examines how the population of Japan has experienced and processed three decades of rapid social change from the highly egalitarian high growth economy of the 1980s to the economically stagnating and demographically shrinking gap society of the 2010s. It discusses social attitudes and values towards, for example, work, gender roles, family, welfare and politics, highlighting certain subgroups which have been particularly affected by societal changes. It explores social consciousness and concludes that although many Japanese people identify as middle class, their reasons for doing so have changed over time, with the result that the optimistic view prevailing in the 1980s, confident of upward mobility, has been replaced by people having a much more realistic view of their social status.

This provocative book addresses the ideological and political crisis of the Western left, comparing it with the problems facing leftist politics in Russia and other countries. The author presents a radical critique of the current state of the Western left which puts discourse above class interest and politics of diversity above politics of social change. The trajectory away from class politics towards feminism, minority rights and the coalition of coalitions led to the destruction of the basic strategic pillars of the movement. Some elements of this broad progressive agenda became mainstream, but in fact this made the crisis of the left even deeper and contributed to the disintegration of the left's identity. The author demonstrates that a simple return to 'the good old times' of classical socialist politics of the industrial age is not possible, suggesting that class politics must be redefined and reinvented through the experience of new radical populism. This book speaks directly to the way the identity politics/class politics divide has been framed within the English-speaking world. It will be of great interest to scholars and students of political science and political sociology, international relations, security studies and global studies, as well as socialist activists.

This book examines the politics of social, cultural and political recognition of caste groups in North India. It explores the factors that make some castes politically influential, while others continue to remain socially and economically marginalized. The author situates these groups within democracy and utilizes a multicultural framework to understand why and when various castes have sought to achieve recognition and redistributive justice; to what extent different castes have been able to achieve these goals; and how civil society has engaged with these issues. Unlike dominant discourses on caste and democracy, which give primacy to electoral/procedural democracy over the substantive one, this book views the relationship between castes and the state in both dimensions of democracy. An important addition to the study of caste politics in India, the volume will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of social exclusion, development studies, minority studies, sociology and social policy, politics, and South Asian studies. It will also be of importance to politicians, policy makers, and civil society activists.

Economic Cycles and Social Movements: Past, Present and Future offers diverse perspectives on the complex interrelationship between social challenges and economic crises in the Modern World System. Written with a balance of quantitative, qualitative and theoretical contributions and insights, this volume provides a great opportunity to reflect upon the ongoing conceptual and empirical challenges when confronting the complex interrelations of various economic cycles and social movements. By engaging wide-ranging ideas and theoretical points of view from different disciplines, different countries and different perspectives, this study breaks new ground and offers novel insights into the way the capitalist world economy functions as well as the way social and political movements react to these constraints. Different chapters in this volume bring about novel interdisciplinary approaches to study business cycles, economic changes and social as well as political movements, offer new interpretations and, while examining the complexity of socioeconomic cycles in the long run, present epistemological challenges and a wide variety of empirical data that will increase our understanding of these complex interactions.

This book investigates the life, working conditions, and urban experiences of support service workers, such as janitors, security guards, culinary workers and carpool drivers, in the information technology (IT) sector of India. Largely omitted from academic discourse, support service workers are crucial to the Indian IT industry. Drawing on interviews with such workers in seven Indian cities with a large concentration of software service companies, this volume: Uses quantitative and qualitative analyses to map and assess workers' responses to migration from rural occupations to a modern urban employment setting; Explores the everyday grind of migrant workers in the context of the homogenizing effects of globalization in an alienating urban environment and discusses how their dislodgment from the structures of rural life - gender and caste roles - has placed them in a space of contestation between traditions and the opportunities and challenges offered by digital society in the form of freedom, individualism, flexibility and innovation; Traces the evolution of new areas of class, and identity formations, as well as the hegemonic relations within that ethos imposed by contractors and corporations. The volume will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of sociology and social anthropology, urban studies, development studies, labour studies, social exclusion and South Asian studies.

Economic Cycles and Social Movements: Past, Present and Future offers diverse perspectives on the complex interrelationship between social challenges and economic crises in the Modern World System. Written with a balance of quantitative, qualitative and theoretical contributions and insights, this volume provides a great opportunity to reflect upon the ongoing conceptual and empirical challenges when confronting the complex interrelations of various economic cycles and social movements. By engaging wide-ranging ideas and theoretical points of view from different disciplines, different countries and different perspectives, this study breaks new ground and offers novel insights into the way the capitalist world economy functions as well as the way social and political movements react to these constraints. Different chapters in this volume bring about novel interdisciplinary approaches to study business cycles, economic changes and social as well as political movements, offer new interpretations and, while examining the complexity of socioeconomic cycles in the long run, present epistemological challenges and a wide variety of empirical data that will increase our understanding of these complex interactions.

In recent years, mob attacks on women by men have drawn public attention to an emerging social phenomenon. This book draws upon concepts from critical race theory and sociocultural evolutionary theory to examine this specific form of gender violence, which takes place outside the law and is a vigilante form of enforcing traditional gender norms. The author positions vigilante gender violence as a global issue produced during specific periods of sociocultural change in conditions marked by intensified social stratification. The catalyst for vigilante gender violence is the formal state's breaching of the "gender bargain," the tacit psychological wage even non-elite men earn by at least not being female. When the state threatens to end the gender bargain by promoting women's rights, the die is cast for low-status men to enforce this bargain themselves in mob attacks against women who are perceived to be violating the patriarchal order. Seen through independent case studies in different national settings, this book provides empirical evidence that demonstrates the existence of vigilante gender violence in times when societies are shifting from one phase to another and the social hierarchies present within are disrupted. With greater understanding of when and how to predict the occurrence of this phenomenon, the author posits notable ways to prevent it from happening altogether.

Beauty, Virtue, Power, and Success in Venezuela 1850-2015 examines the societal duty of Venezuelan women to display and perform their inner virtue and worth through careful management of their outer physical appearance in four historical moments: 1850-1890, 1910-1950, 1960-1990, and 2000-2015. Since the early 1800's, Venezuelan women-and more specifically, their bodies-have served as physical symbols of homeland, honor, and morality. Nichols contextualizes her study socially and historically by examining the impact of cultural phenomena like nineteenth-century eugenics, scientific motherhood, popular and elite literature, film, beauty pageants, and plastic surgery. This book tells the story of how Venezuelan women have learned to exercise and perform to societal expectations of beauty. Recommended for scholars of Latin American studies, women's studies, gender studies, sociology, and history.

Originally published in 1982 The Strategy of Equality examines public expenditure on the social services as a strategy for promoting social equality. Today there is a widespread belief that the strategy has worked and that public spending on the social services primarily benefits those less well off. However, there have been few attempts to examine whether this belief is founded in reality. This book attempts to rectify this. Examining four areas of social policy: health care, education, housing, and transport, the book looks at the distribution of public expenditure and the 'outcome' of that expenditure, as well as the implications for various conceptions of equality.

This book will be crucial reading for students across a variety of disciplines. A broadly socio-legal text, using a mixed-methods design combining grounded theory with an in-depth case study, this research explores a rarely-seen facet of the legal profession. Sociologists studying the practical effect of sociological concepts from theorists such as Bourdieu and Weber; those studying the legal profession from the sociological, law or psychological angles; anyone examining elite professions; management students examining the operation of professional associations and the ways in which these mobilise to take action on controversial topics; those studying the role and creation of outreach: all will find something of interest in this monograph. For those within the legal profession itself it also provides a look into an oft-hidden world: that of the English Bar. A notoriously secretiveprofession, traditional, elite and suspicious of research - the case study evaluatingan outreach programme sheds light on how this fascinating world operates when trying to engage in progressive steps. Through the eyes of a professional association seeking to improve socio-economic diversity in the profession through instituting an access programme focussed on work experience, it examines not just how professional association action may succeed or fail, but why. With foreword by Lord Neuberger, former President of the Supreme Court and Chair of the Working Party on Entry to the Bar.

Fifty years ago, familiar images of the lottery would have been strange, as no state lottery existed then. Few researchers have uncovered the obscure role lotteries play in the changing composition of American taxation. Even less is known about what role race plays in this process. More than simply taxing those on the social margins, the emergence of state lotteries in contemporary American history represents something much more fundamental about state fiscal policy. This book not only uncovers the underlying racial factors that contextualize lottery proliferation in the U.S., but also reveals the racial consequences that lotteries have in terms of redistributing tax liability.

This edited collection explores issues that arise when researching "hard-to-reach" groups and those who remain socially excluded and marginalized in society, such as access, the use of gatekeepers, ethical dilemmas, "voice," and how such research contributes to issues of inclusion and social justice. The book uses a wide range of empirical and theoretical approaches to examine the difficulties, dilemmas and complexities surrounding research methodologies with particular groups. It emphasizes the importance of national and international perspectives in such discussions, and suggests innovative methodological procedures.

Originally published in 1973, Paupers looks at poverty through the lens of class and the Welfare State. The book examines those living in poverty, and the direct effects poverty has. The book follows the basis that the economic factors which gave rise to poverty, have little to do with the Welfare State, and that fragmentary changes, can do little to change them. The book's core argument examines the political and social significance of poverty, and look at the underlying causes and effects of the drift towards a more unequal and unjust society. The book also analyses the factors which bring economically disadvantaged people together, and what happens when they join for collective action.

Originally published in 1987 Not Only the Poor explores the self-interested involvement of the non-poor in the welfare state, particularly the middle class. Using evidence from Britain, America, and Australia, they show that the non-poor were crucial in the founding of the welfare state, and in all three countries the non-poor benefit extensively from key welfare programmes, including those ostensibly targeted on the poor. Goodin and Le Grand conclude that the beneficial involvement of the non-poor in the welfare state is probably inevitable, but this may be no bad thing, depending on the alternative and on the nature of the egalitarian ideal adopted.

Originally published in 1978 The Origins of British Social Policy arose dissatisfaction with conventional approaches to the subject of welfare responsibilities in the state. This volume stresses the complexity of conscious and unconscious influences upon policy, which include such political imperatives as the wish to maintain social order, to maintain and increase economic and military efficiency and to preserve and strengthen the family as a central social institution. It suggests that the break between unsympathetic nineteenth-century Poor Law attitudes towards the poor and modern 'welfare state' approaches has been less sharp or complete than is often assumed.

The community of waste pickers in Calcutta stands on its own against the hostile outside which comprises the state, elites and mainstream society. The residents of this unique world continuously try to escape the 'ideal' world of uniform homogeneity of legally legitimate profession, shelter, sanitation, education, healthcare, savings, credit and cultural activities of the mainstream. This book examines the lives and society of a marginalised urban community of waste pickers living within the city of Calcutta, and yet on the periphery of mainstream society. Through interpretive ethnography of the studied community focusing on ideological marginalisation, as distinct from economic marginalisation, the book studies the community and their world. It uniquely presents a volume of work in the field of ideological or socio-cultural marginalisation: showing how and why socio-cultural marginalisation is expressed through the daily experiences of material and emotional dilapidation, and physical and socio-cultural seclusion as experienced by the waste picking community in Calcutta. It provides an extensive and intimate discourse on the decay of the soul and mind, breakdown of the interpersonal and neighbourhood ties through the mediation of the biased state, mainstream and elite policies attached with the defamed peripheral regions of the city. It argues that ideological marginalisation represents alternative resistance to exploitation through silent defiance, non-participation and non-cooperation by the marginalised people with mainstream society, state and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). It concludes that there is a large scope for studying the negotiation skills of waste pickers/marginalised people in terms of their business with their retailers which help them attain some economic returns, although they still lack social capital, networking skills and human capital. Presenting exciting new ethnography against the background of important theoretical concepts, the book initiates a dialogue about options for a change in the situation of these marginalised people vis-a-vis the state, elites and mainstream society. It will be of interest to an interdisciplinary audience in the fields of Social and Cultural Anthropology, Urban Studies, Development Studies, Urban Sociology and South Asian Studies.

This book analyzes the discourse generated by pundits, politicians, and artists to examine how poverty and the income gap is framed through specific modes of representation. Set against the dichotomy of the structural narrative of poverty and the opportunity narrative, Lemke's modified concept of precarity reveals new insights into the American situation as well as into the textuality of contemporary demands for equity. Her acute study of a vast range of artistic and journalistic texts brings attention to a mode of representation that is itself precarious, both in the modern and etymological sense, denoting both insecurity and entreaty. With the keen eye of a cultural studies scholar her innovative book makes a necessary contribution to academic and popular critiques of the social effects of neoliberal capitalism.

The city of Liverpool had frequently been prone to industrial unrest for most of its recent history, but it was the dawn of Thatcher and the sanctioning of neoliberal economic strategies which made Liverpool a nucleus of resistance against the encroaching tide of right-wing politics and sweeping de-industrialisation. This critique explores six case studies which will illustrate how elements of a highly politicised local working-class fought against the rapid rise in forced redundancies and industrial closures. Some of their responses included strikes, factory occupations, the organisation and politicisation of the unemployed, consent to radical left-wing municipal politics, as well as tacit endorsement a period of violent civil unrest. This critique concludes that in the range, intensity and use of innovative tactics deployed during these conflicts, Liverpool was distinctive. -- .

Positioned within the discourse of neoliberalism and precarious work, this book draws on Guy Standing's notion of "the precariat" in an examination of the role of recruiting individuals as the key actors in labour recruitment and management practices that produce precarious work conditions. Based on extensive empirical work on migrant construction workers and their recruiters in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh and one of the fastest-growing cities in the world, it explores the ways in which exploitative employment relationships contribute to various pressures and insecurities amongst migrant workers and limit the scope for labour protection. Offering new insights into the field of labour migration by unpacking the interconnections between rural-urban labour migration, recruitment and precarious employment, The Construction Precariat conceptualises the domination of recruiters as producing "hyper-individualised employment", and sheds light on the manner in which this relationship of domination and dependence contributes heavily both to the conditions of precariousness and to the control and exploitation of migrant workers.

Drawing on diverse theoretical perspectives on conviviality, this book considers the ways in which Latin America, a continent marked by deep inequalities, has managed to afford, create, sustain, and contest forms of living together with difference across time and space. Interdisciplinary in approach and presenting studies from various nations across the continent - from the medieval period to the present day - it considers the ways in which Latin America might contribute to our understanding of the relationship between inequality, difference, diversity, and sociability. As such, it will appeal to scholars of history, sociology, geography, anthropology, development studies, postcolonial and social theory with interests in Latin American studies, and in the contingencies and contradictions of living together in profoundly unequal societies.

Seven decades since Indian Independence, education takes the centre stage in every major discussion on development, especially when we talk about social exclusion, Dalits and reservations today. This book examines social inclusion in the education sector in India for Scheduled Castes (SCs). The volume: * Foregrounds the historical struggles of the SCs to understand why the quest for education is so central to shaping SC consciousness and aspirations; * Works with exhaustive state-level studies with a view to assessing commonalities and differences in the educational status of SCs today; * Takes stock of the policymaking and extent of implementations across Indian states to understand the challenges faced in different scenarios; * Seeks to analyse the differential in existing economic conditions, and other structural constraints, in relation to access to quality educational facilities; * Examines the social perceptions and experiences of SC students as they live now. A major study, the volume will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of education, sociology and social anthropology, development studies and South Asian studies.

This book examines the formation of colonial social identities inside the institutions for the insane in Australia and New Zealand. Taking a large sample of patient records, it pays particular attention to gender, ethnicity and class as categories of analysis, reminding us of the varied journeys of immigrants to the colonies and of how and where they stopped, for different reasons, inside the social institutions of the period. It is about their stories of mobility, how these were told and produced inside institutions for the insane, and how, in the telling, colonial identities were asserted and formed. Having engaged with the structural imperatives of empire and with the varied imperial meanings of gender, sexuality and medicine, historians have considered the movements of travellers, migrants, military bodies and medical personnel, and 'transnational lives'. This book examines an empire-wide discourse of 'madness' as part of this inquiry. -- .