Showing posts with label Social. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Social. Show all posts

Saturday, April 14, 2012

The Politics of Cultural Differences: Social Change and Voter Mobilization Strategies in the Post-New Deal Period

The Politics of Cultural Differences: Social Change and Voter Mobilization Strategies in the Post-New Deal Period Review



How did Republicans manage to hold the White House through much of the past half century even as the Democratic Party held the hearts of most American voters? The authors of this groundbreaking study argue that they did so by doing what Democrats have also excelled at: triggering psychological mechanisms that deepen cultural divisions in the other party's coalition, thereby leading many of its voters either to choose the opposing ticket or to stay home.

The Politics of Cultural Differences is the first book to develop and carefully test a general theory of cultural politics in the United States, one that offers a compelling new perspective on America's changing political order and political conflict in the post-New Deal period (1960-1996). David Leege, Kenneth Wald, Brian Krueger, and Paul Mueller move beyond existing scholarship by formulating a theory of campaign strategies that emphasizes cultural conflict regarding patriotism, race, gender, and religion. Drawing on National Election Studies data, they find that Republican politicians deployed powerful symbols (e.g., "tax and spend liberals") to channel targeted voters toward the minority party. And as partisanship approached parity in the 1990s, Democratic leaders proved as adept at deploying their own symbols, such as "a woman's right to choose," to disassemble the Republican coalition. A blend of sophisticated theory and advanced empirical tools, this book lays bare the cultural dimensions of American political life.


Friday, March 30, 2012

The New Deal and Beyond: Social Welfare in the South since 1930

The New Deal and Beyond: Social Welfare in the South since 1930 Review



This collection of ten original studies covers a wide range of issues related to the regional distinctiveness of welfare provision in the South and the development of the larger federal welfare state. The studies examine New Deal and Great Society programs from the Works Progress Administration and Civilian Conservation Corps to Social Security and Medicare. In addition, they draw attention to such private-sector organizations as the Salvation Army and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Some essays look at the degree of federal responsiveness to, or actual engagement with, recipients of assistance. One such study examines the dynamics between the New Deal bureaucracy, poor women who worked in WPA-organized sewing rooms in Atlanta, and local political activists concerned about the women's working conditions. The power of race and racism to shape the delivery of social services in the region, as well as the strong connections between social welfare and civil rights, is a concern common to many studies. One study shows how linking the availability of federal Medicare funds to racial equality helped end segregation in southern hospitals. Others focus on topics ranging from the pioneering North Carolina Fund, a state program that shaped Great Society initiatives, to the public health nurses and home economists of the Farm Security Administration, to Georgia governor Eugene Talmadge's maneuverings against the Federal Emergency Relief Administration.

The New Deal and Beyond is filled with many new insights into initiating and maintaining social programs in the South, a region whose welfare history is key to understanding the larger story of the American welfare state.


Saturday, March 24, 2012

Social Security: History and Politics from the New Deal to the Privatization Debate (Studies in Government & Public Policy)

Social Security: History and Politics from the New Deal to the Privatization Debate (Studies in Government & Public Policy) Review



Everyone agrees that Social Security's future is in jeopardy-or is it? Long viewed as the "third rail" of American politics, Social Security is a major political issue, and many experts and politicians would like to restructure this program. But too few of us, young and elderly alike, really understand the origins and workings of this popular program. Daniel Béland answers the call for objective information with a short history that provides context and clarity for the current debates.

Covering six decades through the beginning of the current century, Béland chronicles how Social Security and the controversy surrounding its solvency have evolved, offering along the way new insights into its past, present, and future. His balanced perspective will help readers understand and evaluate partisan arguments on both sides of the issue.

Béland reconstructs the political history of Social Security, describes the impact of subsequent amendments to the original act, and offers comparative insights from other countries that can improve our understanding of the debate. He focuses particularly on the relationship between ideas and institutions in policymaking to examine the impact of gender and race on Social Security politics; and he shows that gender has had a more direct impact on Social Security development-especially regarding spousal benefits-and is more important in understanding the politics of reform than has often been understood.

In assessing how Social Security has been sold to the public, Béland reveals how the 1935 act resulted in part from its link with the traditional American belief in the values associated with hard work and self-reliance, while surreptitiously providing some economic security for the impoverished. Today's privatizers argue for changing from a guaranteed benefit to a defined contribution program, seeking to reclaim from liberals the rhetoric about American values in order to alter the very nature of Social Security-effectually turning discourse centered on personal and collective gain against the institutional legacy of the New Deal.

Succinct and illuminating, Béland's work provides concerned citizens with a thoughtful exploration of how the politics of Social Security evolved, while offering scholars new theoretical insights about the welfare state and the role of ideas and institutions in policymaking.


Thursday, February 16, 2012

The Global New Deal: Economic and Social Human Rights in World Politics (New Millennium Books in International Studies)

The Global New Deal: Economic and Social Human Rights in World Politics (New Millennium Books in International Studies) Review



Global human suffering in the 21st century seems bitterly entrenched, with almost half of the world's people remaining impoverished and over 26,000 children dying daily from preventable causes. This powerful and empowering text offers a way forward, presenting a realistic roadmap for enhanced benevolent global governance with practical, workable solutions to mass poverty. Now fully updated, including new chapters, The Global New Deal outlines the legal responsibilities for all institutions, organizations, and states under international law to respect, protect, and fulfill economic and social human rights. William Felice focuses on seven key areas: the dynamics within international political economy that contribute to economic inequality and create human suffering, the U.N.'s approach to economic and social human rights, the priority of ecosystem protection within all development strategies, the degree of racial bias prevalent in global economics, the relationship between gender equality and economic growth, the impact of military spending on human development, and the importance for the United States to adopt a human-rights approach to poverty alleviation. Arguing for a "global new deal," a set of international and national public policy proposals designed to protect the vulnerable and end needless suffering, this book provides a viable direction for structural reform to protect those left behind by the global economy.


Tuesday, February 7, 2012

The Raw Deal: How the Bush Republicans Plan to Destroy Social Security and the Legacy of the New Deal

The Raw Deal: How the Bush Republicans Plan to Destroy Social Security and the Legacy of the New Deal Review



Social Security is facing the most serious, well-financed, and determined threat to its existence since its inception in 1935. For Americans to make sense of the barrage of conflicting messages on the subject, it's necessary to understand who is behind the campaign to "reform" Social Security, what the campaign aims to achieve, and how it misrepresents its goals. Best-selling author Joe Conason exposes why and how this is happening. "The Raw Deal explores the Right's privatization goals, Bush's hard-fought privatization campaign (built on a stacked "study"), the corporate interests behind the plan, the media campaign to undermine confidence in Social Security, and how the swindle can be stopped. Conason's no-apologies, no-nonsense approach clears up the myriad misperceptions surrounding this important, confusing issue and gets to the truth about the big Social Security bluff.


Tuesday, January 31, 2012

A New Deal for Social Security

A New Deal for Social Security Review



This book examines the history of Social Security and predicts that the system will face bankruptcy within the next few years.


Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Eat, Drink and Succeed: Climb Your Way to the Top Using the Networking Power of Social Events

Eat, Drink and Succeed: Climb Your Way to the Top Using the Networking Power of Social Events Review



There's something to be said for being in the right place at the right time, but if you don t capitalize on the moment, all you ve got is a missed opportunity. Laura Schwartz understands the power of seizing the moment better than anyone. As a 19-year-old college student, she turned a volunteer position in the White House into the opportunity of a lifetime. Using her persuasive and engaging social skills, she went from answering phones to serving as President Bill Clinton s Midwest Press Secretary, Director of Television and, ultimately, Director of Events, where she oversaw 12 state dinners, America s Millennium Celebration and countless other high-profile events. Laura learned plenty while producing the President s events on the world stage, but one lesson stuck with her: No matter how social an event appears, it s business. She watched huge deals unfold over cocktails at state dinners, but she also watched many White House guests squander chances to turn these seemingly social events into life-changing opportunities. When the Clinton Administration ended, Laura began to realize this lesson extended far beyond the Rose Garden. Whether it s a cocktail party, a Little League game or a casual conversation on the treadmill at the gym, there are powerful possibilities lurking in social situations everywhere we turn. Through her acclaimed lecture series, The Networking Power of Social Events, Laura has brought her unique perspective on everyday situations to audiences around the world. Now, with her new book Eat, Drink & Succeed: Climb Your Way to the Top Using the Networking Power of Social Events, her message is readily accessible to the masses. In Eat, Drink & Succeed, Laura shares how she used the power of her own social scenes in every phase of her life: from her days growing up in Plymouth, Wis., to her time at the White House and in her ongoing role as a television commentator for various outlets including CNN, the CBS Early Show, BBC, Fox News Channel and Sir David Frost s Frost Over the World. In a simple, straightforward style, the book shows readers how to apply those skills to their own lives. In Eat, Drink & Succeed, Laura explains how to: *Identify your social scenes *Harness the power of the guest *Get invited to the right events *Arrive at the event armed with research, knowledge, business cards and everything you need to achieve your goal *Make the right impression *Achieve your goals not by asking what people can do for you, but what you can do for others *Follow up after the event *And much, much more Eat, Drink & Succeed is a Black Ox Press publication.


Saturday, September 10, 2011

Confronting Mass Democracy and Industrial Technology: Political and Social Theory from Nietzsche to Habermas

Confronting Mass Democracy and Industrial Technology: Political and Social Theory from Nietzsche to Habermas Review



With a groundbreaking, interdisciplinary approach to German political and social theory, Confronting Mass Democracy and Industrial Technology provides fresh insight into the thought of many of the most influential intellectual figures of the twentieth century. Its essays detail the manner in which a wide range of German intellectuals grappled with the ramifications and implications of democracy, technology, knowledge, and control from the late Kaisserreich to the Weimar Republic, from the Third Reich and the Federal Republic through recently unified Germany.
Scholars representing the fields of political science, philosophy, history, law, literature, and cultural studies devote essays to the work of Nietzsche, Weber, Heidegger, Lukács, Schmitt, Marcuse, Adorno, and Habermas. They also discuss the writings of such figures as Brecht and Freud, who are not primarily thought of as political theorists, and explore the thought of Helmut Plessner and reformist theorists from East Germany who have been little studied in the English language. In the process of debating the nature and responsibilities of the modern state in an era of mass politics, unparalleled military technology, capacity for surveillance, and global media presence, the contributors question whether technology is best understood as an instrument of human design and collective control or as an autonomous entity that not only has a will and life of its own but one that forms the very fabric of modern humanity.

Contributors. Seyla Benhabib, Richard J. Bernstein, Peter C. Caldwell, Richard Dienst, David Dyzenhaus, Andrew Feenberg, Nancy S. Love, John P. McCormick, Jan-Werner Müller, Gia Pascarelli, William E. Scheuerman, Steven B. Smith, Tracy B. Strong, Richard Wolin


Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Design Sensitivity: Statistical Power for Experimental Research (Applied Social Research Methods)

Design Sensitivity: Statistical Power for Experimental Research (Applied Social Research Methods) Review



All researchers face an important challenge - designing research that will have sufficient sensitivity to detect those effects it purports to investigate. Sample size, validity and sensitivity, experimental error, subject variability, and the type of statistical analysis all influence the sensitivity of a research design. Through careful explanations and selection of examples, Lipsey examines the concept of design sensitivity and explains statistical power and the elements that determine it.


Wednesday, August 24, 2011

New Century, New Deal: How to Turn Your Wages into Wealth Through Social Security Choice

New Century, New Deal: How to Turn Your Wages into Wealth Through Social Security Choice Review



When it comes to your retirement, do you want an I.O.U. from Washington, or a secure investment account that you own and control?

For you to retire with a nest egg worth million or more, you don't need to be a quiz show genius. You don't need to win a lottery jackpot. And you don't need to get lucky in Las Vegas. What you do need is a far better return on your money than Social Security provides today.

You need the freedom to invest part of your Social Security taxes in the

real American economy through your own personal retirement account.

It's your money - shouldn't it be your choice?

This is the bold, provocative premise offered by Wade Dokken, CEO of a billion financial services company. With two decades of experience helping people save and invest for retirement, Dokken explains your enormous personal stake in saving Social Security.

"Short of war, no issue government can affect will touch the lives of more Americans than reforming Social Security," writes Dokken, a Baby Boomer. "It is the single most important personal finance issue of our time, and the time for change has come."

Dokken articulates the power of personal retirement accounts and why such accounts are fair and effective and are already improving the quality of life for workers around the world.

A lifelong Democrat, Dokken also writes the first book of its kind - one that sharply criticizes his own party's resistance to Social Security Choice and warns the Democratic leadership to embrace change or risk being swept out of power. Refreshingly idealistic and remarkably realistic, New Century, New Deal is a clarion call to build upon FDR's 20th century institution with a 21st century sense of innovation and imagination.

If you pay Social Security taxes, this is your handbook for the future.


Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Passionate Politics: Emotions and Social Movements

Passionate Politics: Emotions and Social Movements Review



Emotions are back. Once at the center of the study of politics, emotions have receded into the shadows during the past three decades, with no place in the rationalistic, structural, and organizational models that dominate academic political analysis.

With this new collection of essays, Jeff Goodwin, James M. Jasper, and Francesca Polletta reverse this trend, reincorporating emotions such as anger, indignation, fear, disgust, joy, and love into research on politics and social protest. The tools of cultural analysis are especially useful for probing the role of emotions in politics, the editors and contributors to Passionate Politics argue. Moral outrage, the shame of spoiled collective identities, or the joy of imagining a new and better society, are not automatic responses to events. Rather, they are related to moral institutions, felt obligations and rights, and information about expected effects, all of which are culturally and historically variable.

With its look at the history of emotions in social thought, examination of the internal dynamics of protest groups, and exploration of the emotional dynamics that arise from interactions and conflicts among political factions and individuals, Passionate Politics will lead the way toward an overdue reconsideration of the role of emotions in social movements and politics generally.

Contributors:
Rebecca Anne Allahyari
Edwin Amenta
Collin Barker
Mabel Berezin
Craig Calhoun
Randall Collins
Frank Dobbin
Jeff Goodwin
Deborah B. Gould
Julian McAllister Groves
James M. Jasper
Anne Kane
Theodore D. Kemper
Sharon Erickson Nepstad
Steven Pfaff
Francesca Polletta
Christian Smith
Arlene Stein
Nancy Whittier
Elisabeth Jean Wood
Michael P. Young


Sunday, August 21, 2011

Atlantic Crossings: Social Politics in a Progressive Age

Atlantic Crossings: Social Politics in a Progressive Age Review



"The most belated of nations," Theodore Roosevelt called his country during the workmen's compensation fight in 1907. Earlier reformers, progressives of his day, and later New Dealers lamented the nation's resistance to models abroad for correctives to the backwardness of American social politics. Atlantic Crossings is the first major account of the vibrant international network that they constructed--so often obscured by notions of American exceptionalism--and of its profound impact on the United States from the 1870s through 1945.

On a narrative canvas that sweeps across Europe and the United States, Daniel Rodgers retells the story of the classic era of efforts to repair the damages of unbridled capitalism. He reveals the forgotten international roots of such innovations as city planning, rural cooperatives, modernist architecture for public housing, and social insurance, among other reforms. From small beginnings to reconstructions of the new great cities and rural life, and to the wide-ranging mechanics of social security for working people, Rodgers finds the interconnections, adaptations, exchanges, and even rivalries in the Atlantic region's social planning. He uncovers the immense diffusion of talent, ideas, and action that were breathtaking in their range and impact.

The scope of Atlantic Crossings is vast and peopled with the reformers, university men and women, new experts, bureaucrats, politicians, and gifted amateurs. This long durée of contemporary social policy encompassed fierce debate, new conceptions of the role of the state, an acceptance of the importance of expertise in making government policy, and a recognition of a shared destiny in a newly created world.


Thursday, August 18, 2011

Barriers to Democracy: The Other Side of Social Capital in Palestine and the Arab World

Barriers to Democracy: The Other Side of Social Capital in Palestine and the Arab World Review



Barriers to Democracy: The Other Side of Social Capital in Palestine and the Arab World Feature

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Democracy-building efforts from the early 1990s on have funneled billions of dollars into nongovernmental organizations across the developing world, with the U.S. administration of George W. Bush leading the charge since 2001. But are many such "civil society" initiatives fatally flawed? Focusing on the Palestinian West Bank and the Arab world, Barriers to Democracy mounts a powerful challenge to the core tenet of civil society initiatives: namely, that public participation in private associations necessarily yields the sort of civic engagement that, in turn, sustains effective democratic institutions. Such assertions tend to rely on evidence from states that are democratic to begin with. Here, Amaney Jamal investigates the role of civic associations in promoting democratic attitudes and behavioral patterns in contexts that are less than democratic.

Jamal argues that, in state-centralized environments, associations can just as easily promote civic qualities vital to authoritarian citizenship--such as support for the regime in power. Thus, any assessment of the influence of associational life on civic life must take into account political contexts, including the relationships among associations, their leaders, and political institutions.

Barriers to Democracy both builds on and critiques the multifaceted literature that has emerged since the mid-1990s on associational life and civil society. By critically examining associational life in the West Bank during the height of the Oslo Peace Process (1993-99), and extending her findings to Morocco, Egypt, and Jordan, Jamal provides vital new insights into a timely issue.


Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Four Theories of the Press: The Authoritarian, Libertarian, Social Responsibility and Soviet Communist Concepts of What the Press Should Be and Do (Illini Books)

Four Theories of the Press: The Authoritarian, Libertarian, Social Responsibility and Soviet Communist Concepts of What the Press Should Be and Do (Illini Books) Review



Presented here are four major theories behind the functioning of the world's presses: (1) the Authoritarian theory, which developed in the late Renaissance and was based on the idea that truth is the product of a few wise men; (2) the Libertarian theory, which arose from the works of men like Milton, Locke, Mill, and Jefferson and avowed that the search for truth is one of man's natural rights; (3) the Social Responsibility theory of the modern day: equal radio and television time for political candidates, the obligations of the newspaper in a one-paper town, etc.; (4) the Soviet Communist theory, an expanded and more positive version of the old Authoritarian theory.