Double Standard

by Russell, James W.

• ISBN13: 9781442206588
• ISBN10: 1442206586
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-12-16
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Pub Inc

Summary

In the second edition of Double Standard, James W. Russell shows how and why different models of social and welfare policy developed in the United States and Europe. He comparatively examines how Europe and the United States have handled common social problems such as poverty, inequality, unemployment, family support, health care provision, ethnic and racial conflict, and crime. These different social policy orientations have produced disparate social ways of life, ways of life that are now in contention for the future of western societies. Today Europeans see their strong welfare states as necessary to counter the worst features of unrestrained capitalism. They pay high taxes to support generous social benefits. Americans, to the contrary, have been conditioned to shudder at the very idea of a welfare state, upholding instead a laissez-faire faith in market solutions to social problems. They pay low taxes and have few tax-subsidized benefits. This new edition includes the latest available statistical information as well as an analysis of the 2010 health care reform in the United States. The book also compares the social consequences of the latest recession in Europe and the United States.

Author Biography

James W. Russell is Connecticut State University Professor of Sociology at Eastern Connecticut State University.

Table of Contents

Note to the Second Edition	p. vii
Preface	p. ix
Introduction: From Social Problems to Social Policies	p. 1
The Social Worldview of Medieval Christianity as Prologue	p. 7
Secular Transitions and Assumptions	p. 13
Marx, Durkheim, and the Limits of Laissez-Faire Capitalism	p. 25
From Theory to Ideology	p. 35
The Origins of Social Policy in Europe and the United States	p. 43
Alternative Approaches to Social Policy	p. 53
Social Cohesion and Inequality	p. 63
Poverty	p. 75
Unemployment: The Sword of Damocles	p. 87
Support for Child Raising	p. 103
Support for the Aged	p. 115
Health Care	p. 123
Ethnic and Racial Policy	p. 133
Incarceration as Social Policy	p. 149
Summary: Principles for Progressive Social Policy	p. 153
Afterword: Social Impacts of the Great Recession in Europe and the United States	p. 159
Notes	p. 163
Bibliography	p. 177
Index	p. 185
About the Author	p. 195
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