Postmodern philosophy is shown to be a valuable tool for exposing the bankruptcy of laissez-faire economics and culture and in developing a democratic policy. Despite the claims made by conservatives, Choi, Callaghan, and Murphy argue that an unencumbered market does not encourage pluralism. Sources of power are left intact that work in various ways to truncate democracy. Postmodernism offers an alternative to the conservative ideology and provides a new approach to promoting social equity. The protests in Los Angeles during the spring of 1992 signaled that the United States is a troubled society. Specifically, many people are not close to experiencing democracy. This is the case even though American society is becoming increasingly diverse. Certain powerful interests constrict the American policy in very important ways. Postmodern philosophy is used by Choi, Callaghan, and Murphy to illustrate how this control is maintained through the manipulation of symbolism and other cultural factors. Accordingly, they contend, new symbolism is needed before a democratic, pluralistic polity can be said to exist. Postmodernism is also employed to show how a democratic mode of order can be conceptualized. Contrary to what some critics claim, Postmodernism is a worldly philosophy that has much to say about contemporary issues. This volume of cultural criticism will be of interest to political philosophers, sociologists, and others concerned with current social and political problems.

Few books in this field focus solely on beauty ideals, and this volume is unique in terms of its scholarly, interdisciplinary approach. The eleven chapters offer readers a comprehensive analysis of beauty and patriarchy. They reflect a variety of approaches to the study of feminine beauty, including philosophical, historical, sociological, cross-cultural, and empirical. Feminine beauty is discussed as a means of patriarchal, social control, which shapes the socio-cultural, political context as well as the everyday lives of women.

This progressive resource brings the innovative power of narrative medicine to the forefront of community public health care. Chapters describe community involvement across a continuum of control, from health consultants describing problems and suggesting solutions to health committees designing programs and evaluating results. Narrative strategies to this end, including authentic dialogue and community mapping, are examined in the context of public health and fleshed out with examples of different levels of participation by community members. From the respectful collaboration modeled here, the principles of community public health care can potentially expand beyond the immediate community into other social domains on a greater scale. Included in the coverage: * Narratives, local knowledge, and world entry. * Community and narratives. * What is dialogue? * Storylines, causes, and locus of interventions. * Community mapping tells a story. * The politics of storytelling. Narrative Medicine and Community-Based Health Care and Planning gives health psychologists, sociologists, social workers, and public health administrators realistic practical insights for tapping into the unique resources communities and clients have to offer. This is the next step in the evolution of public health, toward large-scale improvements in care delivery, access to and relevance of services, and patient and community outcomes.

Nowadays the market, and neo-liberalism in general, seems to be in disarray. With support waning for an unfettered market, various critics are seeking alternatives. This book presents the idea that a new way of thinking about the economy may be productive, particularly one that does not rely on an unregulated market to secure economic order. In this context, the notion of a "post-market society" is introduced to describe this shift in orientation. The general theme is that markets are imperfect, despite what their advocates declare.