|
Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Social issues > Unemployment
|
Buy Now
An End to Poverty? - A Historical Debate (Paperback)
Loot Price: R1,008
Discovery Miles 10 080
|
|
|
An End to Poverty? - A Historical Debate (Paperback)
Expected to ship within 10 - 15 working days
|
In the 1790s, for the first time, reformers proposed bringing
poverty to an end. Inspired by scientific progress, the promise of
an international economy, and the revolutions in France and the
United States, political thinkers such as Thomas Paine and
Antoine-Nicolas Condorcet argued that all citizens could be
protected against the hazards of economic insecurity. In An End to
Poverty? Gareth Stedman Jones revisits this founding moment in the
history of social democracy and examines how it was derailed by
conservative as well as leftist thinkers. By tracing the historical
evolution of debates concerning poverty, Stedman Jones revives an
important, but forgotten strain of progressive thought. He also
demonstrates that current discussions about economic
issues-downsizing, globalization, and financial regulation-were
shaped by the ideological conflicts of the late eighteenth and
early nineteenth centuries. Paine and Condorcet believed that
republicanism combined with universal pensions, grants to support
education, and other social programs could alleviate poverty. In
tracing the inspiration for their beliefs, Stedman Jones locates an
unlikely source-Adam Smith. Paine and Condorcet believed that
Smith's vision of a dynamic commercial society laid the groundwork
for creating economic security and a more equal society. But these
early visions of social democracy were deemed too threatening to a
Europe still reeling from the traumatic aftermath of the French
Revolution and increasingly anxious about a changing global
economy. Paine and Condorcet were demonized by Christian and
conservative thinkers such as Burke and Malthus, who used Smith's
ideas to support a harsher vision of society based on individualism
and laissez-faire economics. Meanwhile, as the nineteenth century
wore on, thinkers on the left developed more firmly anticapitalist
views and criticized Paine and Condorcet for being too "bourgeois"
in their thinking. Stedman Jones however, argues that contemporary
social democracy should take up the mantle of these earlier
thinkers, and he suggests that the elimination of poverty need not
be a utopian dream but may once again be profitably made the
subject of practical, political, and social-policy debates.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
|
You might also like..
|
Email address subscribed successfully.
A activation email has been sent to you.
Please click the link in that email to activate your subscription.
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
