Building Better Societies: Promoting Social Justice in a World Falling Apart - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1447332032 ISBN 13: 9781447332039

Publisher: Policy Press, 2017

Synopsis

From environmental decline to growing economic inequality, things are getting worse for the majority of the human race and will continue to worsen until determined action is taken. Starting from this vantage point, Building Better Societies looks to social scientists to identify what is needed to solve the problems that are leading to a collapse of civil society. This is the first book to collect the ideas of those whose research on social conditions is at the forefront of our biggest societal problems.

Challenging fellow social scientists to cast aside their commitment to the established order and its ideological support systems, Building Better Societies argues that social researchers must, as objectively as possible, use their skills to look ahead, identify the likely outcomes of various forms of intervention, and move to the forefront of informed political debate. Bringing together expert contributors researching the many aspects of our social condition, this book channels the energy of social scientists into a more normative and engaged voice; it asks them what mechanisms, interventions, and evidence we might draw on as we make a better world.

About this title

About the Author

Rowland Atkinson is chair of inclusive societies in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Sheffield. He is coauthor of Domestic Fortress: Fear and the New Home Front. Lisa Mckenzie is a research fellow in the Department of Sociology at the London School of Economics and Political Science. She is the author of Getting By: Estates, Class and Culture in Austerity Britain, also published by Policy Press. Simon Winlow is professor of criminology in the School of Social Sciences, Business and Law at Teeside University. He is coauthor, most recently, of Riots and Political Protest.

Review

“Do we need another book on social justice? The answer seems to be yes. The text largely makes a compelling case for the betterment of society and charts a credible way forward for how we might best achieve this. . .This book is a well-timed addition to the social justice discourse and should be read by everyone.” (LSE Review of Books)

“Enriches and enlivens, bringing detail to generalities and radical, exciting alternatives to exhausted narratives.” (Zoe Williams, Guardian columnist)

“This fantastic collection provides a trenchant critique of contemporary society and outlines solutions to challenge the power games of those sowing the seeds of social injustice. A must read for anyone with a heart.” (Mark Doidge, University of Brighton)

“We’ve been told we don’t need experts, but we need them more than ever. This rich collection of thought-provoking pieces about the importance of our social world can be a catalyst for debate and dialogue among all those committed to building a better world.” (Kate E. Pickett, University of York)

“This is a profoundly important book. How might public sociology be conducted in bleak times and in the face of fragmented publics? The authors  begin the necessary task of building a sociology of new possibilities. Recent events make this necessary reading.” (John Holmwood, University of Nottingham)

Edition details

• Publisher: Policy Press
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 1447332032
• ISBN 13: 9781447332039
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 192
• Editor: Atkinson Rowland, Mckenzie Lisa, Winlow Simon