Social Policy, Political Economy and the Social Contract

Description

In this challenging and original study, Wistow positions social policy within political economy and social contract debates. Focusing on individual, intergenerational and societal outcomes related to health, place and social mobility in England, he draws on empirical evidence to show how the social contract produces longstanding, highly patterned and inequitable consequences in these areas. Globalisation and the political economy simultaneously contribute to the extent and nature of social problems and to social policy's capacity to address them effectively. Applying social contract theory, this book shows that society needs to take ownership of the outcomes it produces and critically interrogates the individualism inherent within the political economy.

Jonathan Wistow is Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at Durham University.

"This is an important and timely book. Wistow offers an original analysis of the social contract and its relevance to welfare debates. Essential reading for academics and students in social science disciplines." Lee Gregory, University of Nottingham "Going beyond sticking-plaster solutions to economic and social problems, Wistow digs down to the deeper causes by examining social policy in the context of political economy." Andrew Sayer, Lancaster University "In this important contribution, Jonathan Wistow shows how solutions to social crises have too often been forged while ignoring their complex structural economic and political roots. Social policy analysis, he argues, needs to be much more closely integrated into the wider question of political economy." Stewart Lansley, Author of The Richer, The Poorer