1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910300615603321

Autore

Cockburn Patrick J. L

Titolo

The Politics of Dependence [[electronic resource] ] : Economic Parasites and Vulnerable Lives / / by Patrick J. L. Cockburn

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Cham : , : Springer International Publishing : , : Imprint : Palgrave Macmillan, , 2018

ISBN

3-319-78908-2

Edizione

[1st ed. 2018.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (IX, 232 p.)

Disciplina

320.01

Soggetti

Political philosophy

Economic development

Political theory

Welfare state

Political economy

Welfare economics

Political Philosophy

Development Theory

Political Theory

Politics of the Welfare State

International Political Economy

Social Choice/Welfare Economics/Public Choice/Political Economy

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

1. Introduction -- 2. Economic Dependence and the Welfare State -- 3. Unproductive People -- 4. The Empty Economy -- 5. Currencies and Scales of Dependence -- 6. How Property Structures Dependence -- 7. Unearned Income and Inheritance -- 8. Conclusion: Choosing Our Dependencies.

Sommario/riassunto

The central claim of this book is that the dichotomy between economic dependence and economic independence is completely inadequate for describing the political challenges faced by contemporary capitalist welfare states. The simplistic contrast between markets and states as sources of income renders invisible the relations of dependence



established in our basic economic institutions such as the family, property, and money. This book is a work of political theory that attacks narrow conceptions of dependence and identifies distinct senses of dependence that might allow political communities to make clearer decisions about the justice of our economic institutions and practices. Inheritance, for example, is as much a form of dependence as support by a welfare state, but these are never compared in debates about economic justice. This book begins the work of comparing forms of economic dependence, and argues that economic dependence is always an issue of both vulnerability and parasitism. It builds bridges between political theory and social science, and is of relevance to those concerned with social and economic justice in and beyond contemporary capitalist welfare states. .