An attempt at a final summary of much of my work in anthropology has been divided into two separate volumes, Status Inequality: The Self in Culture, 1990, published by Sage Publications and this present volume, Social Cohesion and Alienation: Minorities in the United States and Japan. Many of the themes touched upon in both volumes have appeared in a series of writings that stretch through a period starting in the early sixties through the late eighties. Some of these efforts resulted in books; others appeared separately as invited contributions to symposia, as special issues of journals, or as parts of edited volumes.
With his co-author, De Vos - a major figure in psychological anthropology - explores anthropological, sociological and psychoanalytical insights into human behaviour. Their unified theory synthesizes social structure and personality structure, concepts previously seen as diametrically opposed. The authors point to the symbolic nature of groups, the experience of ethnicity and of inequality, and the impact of internal and external variables on the sense of self. Separating the effects of status inequality from other social and psychological determinants of behaviour, this intriguing work discusses the developmental experience of the self.
Australia's reputation as a successful large scale immigrant-receiving nation is well formed. In the latest wave, not only have millions of diverse people arrived in the post-war period from 1945 to a growing, high income, good employment economy; but the society absorbing them has remained stable and cohesive. This is not to say that it has been entirely plain sailing - sensitive debate, isolated interethnic violence, and the degree of migrant ghettoisation have been prominent, though varying in intensity over time. But overall, the planned program of immigration and settlement by Australia's governments over the years has been successful. This volume examines key elements of the means by which social cohesion can be constructively sought in Australia. With contributions from some of Australia's leading experts in this field, this book addresses the key concern: what are the threats to Australia's social cohesion and how can they be countered?
Relying nearly exclusively on Hegel's ontological conception of the authentic self, the author seeks to explicate the causes of alienation and offer a method for overcoming it. Hegel's idea that human history is the quest through rational freedom towards spirit is advanced as the fundamental truth for overcoming alienation. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
This book explores the role of complexity in the governance of migration and diversity. Current policy processes often fail to adequately capture complexity, favouring ‘quick fix’ approaches to regulation and integration that result in various forms of alienation: problem alienation, institutional alienation, political alienation and social alienation. Scholten draws on literature from gender and environmental governance to develop ‘mainstreaming’, an approach that reframes migration as a contingent and emergent process made up of complex actor networks, rather than a one-size-fits-all policy model. By ensuring actors understand and respond to complexity, migration research can contribute to reflexivity in policy processes, help to promote mainstreaming, and prevent alienation. The result will be of interest to students and scholars of migration and governance studies, with a focus on policymaking and integration.
The concept of alienation is an umbrella concept that includes powerlessness, meaninglessness, social isolation, cultural estrangement, and self-estrangement. For researchers, the study of alienation is a three-fold task: first, understanding the discrepancy between individual values and actions and general living and working conditions; second, analyzing the overt and latent forms of oppression in social structures; third, accounting for social circumstances that hinder or facilitate individual or collective action against those alienating structures. Alienation, Society, and the Individual provides a timely and broadly representative overview of the most recent developments in alienation research and theory. Alienation, Society, and the Individual makes it clear that alienation research has come of age. Further theoretical developments remain important and as demonstrated In this volume, which revives theoretical debate so as to reformulate classical concepts in view of developments in modern society, the concept of alienation is now increasingly applied to empirical research in a variety of fields. Included here are theory driven evaluations of empirical research on migrant workers, as well as comparative studies on differing liberation ideologies in South Africa. This volume reflects the effects of political developments in Eastern Europe on Marxist alienation theory. While Marxist theory remains important, it is no longer directed exclusively toward criticism of capitalist society. New applications include a critique of Eastern European state socialism, analysis of consumer, rather than capitalist society, and uncommon examples of empirical research carried out within a Marxist framework. The book concludes with a chapter that evaluates recent theoretical and methodological innovations and sets priorities for future research. Alienation, Society, and the Individual offers an unusual combination of theory and practice that make it a state-of-the-art volume. It will be read by sociologists, political scientists, social psychologists, philosophers, and anthropologists.
Creating Social Cohesion in an Interdependent World examines the ways in which two very different societies, Australia and Japan, have dealt with challenges to their cultural and institutional fabric, as well as the social cohesion arising from the acceleration of global interdependence during recent decades. Deepening globalization has generated great social dislocation and uncertainty about collective identity and to anxiety about how to accommodate apparently unstoppable external influences. The studies in this volume explore areas which have experienced significant impact from globalization, including immigration policy, ethnic and racial intermarriage, attitudes towards ethnic and racial minorities, national and cultural identity, education policy and labor relations. The approach used is innovative in juxtaposing two societies which, although developed, are contrasting in their historical origins and contemporary cultural legacies.
The growth rate of the Indian economy has plummeted sharply from 9 per cent in 2010 to below 5 per cent over 2012−14. It is essential to sustain a growth rate of 8 per cent or more over the next 20 years to eliminate poverty and reach a decent standard of living. There is an urgent need for research on the challenges facing India in reviving and sustaining high rates of economic growth, some of which are related to industrial policy, trade policy, infrastructure bottlenecks, inflation and macroeconomic issues, governance issues, demography and human capital. There is also a need for better industrial and human resource policies, higher investment and savings rates, higher exports and foreign investment inflows. This book studies the importance of growth, the role of industrial policy in sustaining it, and other critical issues regarding ways to revive and sustain higher growth in India across various sectors of the economy.
Now a Washington Post bestseller. Respected conservative journalist and commentator Timothy P. Carney continues the conversation begun with Hillbilly Elegy and the classic Bowling Alone in this hard-hitting analysis that identifies the true factor behind the decline of the American dream: it is not purely the result of economics as the left claims, but the collapse of the institutions that made us successful, including marriage, church, and civic life. During the 2016 presidential campaign, Donald J. Trump proclaimed, “the American dream is dead,” and this message resonated across the country. Why do so many people believe that the American dream is no longer within reach? Growing inequality, stubborn pockets of immobility, rising rates of deadly addiction, the increasing and troubling fact that where you start determines where you end up, heightening political strife—these are the disturbing realities threatening ordinary American lives today. The standard accounts pointed to economic problems among the working class, but the root was a cultural collapse: While the educated and wealthy elites still enjoy strong communities, most blue-collar Americans lack strong communities and institutions that bind them to their neighbors. And outside of the elites, the central American institution has been religion That is, it’s not the factory closings that have torn us apart; it’s the church closings. The dissolution of our most cherished institutions—nuclear families, places of worship, civic organizations—has not only divided us, but eroded our sense of worth, belief in opportunity, and connection to one another. In Abandoned America, Carney visits all corners of America, from the dim country bars of Southwestern Pennsylvania., to the bustling Mormon wards of Salt Lake City, and explains the most important data and research to demonstrate how the social connection is the great divide in America. He shows that Trump’s surprising victory was the most visible symptom of this deep-seated problem. In addition to his detailed exploration of how a range of societal changes have, in tandem, damaged us, Carney provides a framework that will lead us back out of a lonely, modern wilderness.
In recent years American politics has seemingly become much more partisan, more zero-sum, more vicious, and less able to confront the real problems our nation faces. What has happened? In The Second Civil War, respected political commentator Ronald Brownstein diagnoses the electoral, demographic, and institutional forces that have wreaked such change over the American political landscape, pulling politics into the margins and leaving precious little common ground for compromise. The Second Civil War is not a book for Democrats or Republicans but for all Americans who are disturbed by our current political dysfunction and hungry for ways to understand it—and move beyond it.
