Solutions to Social Problems: Lessons from Other Societies

by Eitzen, D. Stanley; Leedham, Craig S.

• ISBN13: 9780205321070
• ISBN10: 0205321070
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-06-01
• Publisher: Pearson College Div

Summary

The only reader to look at how other countries solve their social problems in order to help us in the U.S. solve our own. This reader offers an emphasis on solving social problems, a topic that is lacking in most Social Problems textbooks. It is organized around thirteen problem areas typically covered in the Social Problems course and can be used to complement any Social Problems textbook. The readings included are from other societies and demonstrate successful alternatives for overcoming the social problems that plague the United States.

Table of Contents

Preface	v
Part One Introduction	1	(1)
Section 1 The Comparative Approach to Social Problems	1	(30)
U.S. Social Problems in Comparative Perspective	3	(10)
D. Stanley Eitzen
Craig S. Leedham
Canada: A Kinder, Gentler Nation	13	(13)
Peter Dreier
Elaine Bernard
Remedying Social Problems [Sweden: A Social Welfare State]	26	(5)
Joe R. Feagin
Clairece Booher Feagin
Part Two Problems of Inequality	31	(2)
Section 2 Poverty	33	(21)
The United States Context	33	(2)
Why the U.S. Antipoverty System Doesn't Work Very Well	35	(11)
Timothy M. Smeeding
Why Canada Has Less Poverty	46	(5)
Maria J. Hanratty
What's Wrong with Current Poverty Policies?	51	(3)
Randy Albelda
Chris Tilly
Section 3 Income Inequality	54	(21)
The United States Context	54	(2)
Toward an Apartheid Economy?	56	(10)
Richard B. Freeman
Inequality Here and There	66	(6)
Claude S. Fischer
Michael Hout
Martin Sanchez Jankowski
Samuel R. Lucas
Ann Swidler
Kim Voss
For CEOs, a Minimum Wage in the Millions	72	(3)
Holly Sklar
Section 4 Gender	75	(18)
The United States Context	75	(1)
Comparable Worth in Industrialized Countries	76	(6)
U.S. Department of Labor
Swedish Sojourn [The Condition of Women in Sweden]	82	(11)
Susan Faludi
Section 5 Age	93	(10)
The United States Context	93	(2)
The Super-Aged Society [Japan]	95	(3)
Shigeaki Baba
A Gradual Goodbye	98	(5)
The Economist
Part Three Institutional Problems	103	(2)
Section 6 Families	105	(17)
The United States Context	105	(2)
The Nordic Countries: Public Programs for Dealing with the Consequences of Divorce	107	(5)
William J. Goode
It's About Time: Will Europe Solve the Work/Family Dilemma?	112	(7)
Deborah Figart
Ellen Mutari
Same-Sex Spouses in Canada	119	(3)
E. J. Graff
Section 7 Schools	122	(18)
The United States Context	122	(3)
Teaching Our Teachers: Lessons from Abroad	125	(6)
Richard P. McAdams
U.S. and German Youths: Unemployment and the Transition from School to Work	131	(9)
Robert J. Gitter
Markus Scheuer
Section 8 Work	140	(13)
The United States Context	140	(2)
Jobs versus Wages: The Phony Trade-Off [The United States Compared to the European Social Democracies]	142	(5)
Phineas Baxandall
Jobs for Life: Why Japan Won't Give Them Up	147	(6)
Eamonn Fingleton
Section 9 Health Care and Delivery	153	(36)
The United States Context	153	(2)
Primary Care and Health: A Cross-National Comparison	155	(8)
Barbara Starfield
The Health Care System in Sweden	163	(10)
Swedish Institute
Long-Term Care: A Comparison of Policies and Services in Israel and the United Kingdom and Implications for the United States	173	(16)
Carole Cox
Part Four Problems of People, Resources, and Place	189	(2)
Section 10 Cities	191	(17)
The United States Context	191	(2)
America's Rush to Suburbia	193	(3)
Kenneth T. Jackson
Going Places: Europe's Cities Are Being Redesigned with People and the Environment in Mind	196	(4)
Jay Walljasper
Metropolis Unbound: The Sprawling American City and the Search for Alternatives	200	(8)
Robert Geddes
Section 11 Environment	208	(21)
The United States Context	208	(2)
The Green Revolution in the Making [Germany's Mandate for Clean Technologies]	210	(8)
Curtis Moore
Late to the Station [The Promise of High-Speed Rail]	218	(5)
David Moberg
Creating Markets for Recycling	223	(6)
Fred Friedman
Part Five Individual Deviance	229	(2)
Section 12 Crime and Crime Control	231	(18)
The United States Context	231	(2)
Cultural Divide over Crime and Punishment [The United States Compared to European Nations]	233	(7)
Linnet Myers
The Secret of Japan's Safe Streets	240	(6)
The Economist
Deaths Reflect Gun Use in U. S. [Fatality Rates Stand Alone]	246	(3)
Michael Booth
Section 13 Drugs	249
The United States Context	249
The View from Platform Zero: How Holland Handles Its Drug Problem	251
Daniel M. Perrine
The Netherlands: Let's Be Realistic	256
Herbert P. Barnard
Does Europe Do It Better? Lessons from Holland, Britain and Switzerland	260
Robert J. MacCoun
Peter Reuter