scholarly journals Inequality and Democracy: A response to the International Panel on Social Progress (IPSP) Report 2018

2020 ◽  
Vol 78 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-202
Author(s):  
Simon Reid-Henry
Keyword(s):  
Social Progress ◽  
International Panel

scholarly journals INTRODUCTION TO THE SYMPOSIUM ON THE REPORT OF THE INTERNATIONAL PANEL ON SOCIAL PROGRESS (IPSP) 2018

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 439-441
Author(s):  
Alexander Raubo ◽  
Alex Voorhoeve
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Human Mind ◽  
Social Progress ◽  
Theoretical Knowledge ◽  
Social Actors ◽  
Historical View ◽  
International Panel ◽  
Enlightenment Project ◽  
Social Scientific

The publication of the first Report of the International Panel on Social Progress is a significant intellectual event, both because of its hugely ambitious aim – of uniting the world's leading researchers from social sciences and the humanities to develop research-based, multi-disciplinary, non-partisan, action-guiding solutions to the central challenges of our time – and because it represents the completion of a mammoth effort in the service of this aim by a diverse set of 269 authors. In its attempt to synthesize and render accessible to social actors a broad range of the latest social scientific knowledge, as well as in its confidence that knowledge can empower those actors to make progress, it recalls D'Alembert and Diderot's famous Encyclopédie. Indeed, one can say that the Report is a quintessential Enlightenment project (cf. Bury 1920). For example, in his famous Outlines of a Historical View of the Progress of the Human Mind (1796), Condorcet asserts the possibility of an accumulation of empirical and theoretical knowledge and the concomitant expansion in our capacities to alleviate social and natural evils. And Condorcet and many of his contemporaries were motivated to propose political institutions that would enable such an indefinite increase in knowledge so as to bring about the attendant improvement to people's lives.

IN PURSUIT OF SOCIAL PROGRESS

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 443-449
Author(s):  
Matthew Adler ◽  
Marc Fleurbaey
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
New York ◽  
Academic Career ◽  
New York Times ◽  
Social Progress ◽  
University Professors ◽  
University Campuses ◽  
International Panel ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World

In 2014, the New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof wrote: ‘Some of the smartest thinkers on problems at home and around the world are university professors, but most of them just don't matter in today's great debates … I write this in sorrow, for I considered an academic career and deeply admire the wisdom found on university campuses. So, professors, don't cloister yourselves like medieval monks – we need you!’ At that time, a group of academics were working to launch the International Panel on Social Progress, with the aim of preparing a report analysing the current prospects for improving our societies.1 It gathered about 300 researchers from more than 40 countries and from all disciplines of the social sciences, law and philosophy.

scholarly journals Social Progress and Global Governance

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Fleurbay ◽  
Ravi Kanbur
Keyword(s):  
Global Governance ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Social Progress ◽  
Social Injustice ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Cambridge University ◽  
First Report ◽  
International Panel ◽  
The World ◽  
Multidisciplinary Group

Abstract Over the last four years, we have worked with a large, international, and multidisciplinary group of scholars and social scientists, in the preparation of the first report of the International Panel on Social Progress (IPSP) (Rethinking Society for the 21st Century, Cambridge University Press, 2018). The question this group set itself to answer was whether we can hope for better institutions and less social injustice in the world in the coming decades, given the ongoing trends.

scholarly journals Thinking Theoretically about Religiosity, Secularity and Pluralism in the Global East

Religions ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 337 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grace Davie
Keyword(s):  
East Asia ◽  
Final Section ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Social Progress ◽  
Scientific Thinking ◽  
International Panel ◽  
The World ◽  
Social Scientific ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Do So

This paper addresses the religiosity, secularity and pluralism of the global East from a theoretical perspective. To do so it draws from work undertaken by the author within the International Panel on Social Progress (IPSP), paying particular attention to the material on religion, diversity and pluralism. The final section of the article demonstrates the rootedness of social scientific thinking in the European Enlightenment and the consequences of this heritage for the understanding of religion in other parts of the world including East Asia. There are no easy answers to the questions posed by the mismatch between theory and data; there are, however, pointers towards more constructive ways forward—ways which respond sensitively to the context under review, maintaining nonetheless a high degree of scientific rigour.

A Latin American response to the IPSP chapter on media and communication

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gustavo Gómez
Keyword(s):  
Latin American ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
Social Progress ◽  
Net Neutrality ◽  
Internet Service ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
International Panel ◽  
Potential Impact ◽  
Media And Communication

Based on a critical reading of the International Panel on Social Progress (IPSP) report on media and communication, this article presents various issues central to media democracy in Latin America. The response to the IPSP report examines four key elements: (1) access to media and digital platforms, (2) the potential impact of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) on freedom of expression, (3) Net neutrality as an essential component of digital platforms and 4) issues of concentration, diversity and pluralism in media and digital platforms.

COMMENTS ON THE REPORT OF THE INTERNATIONAL PANEL ON SOCIAL PROGRESS, CHAPTERS 9 AND 14: INEQUALITY, DEMOCRACY AND THE RULE OF LAW

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 463-469
Author(s):  
Alina Rocha Menocal
Keyword(s):  
World Bank ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Progress ◽  
Global Level ◽  
Authoritarian Rule ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
The Past ◽  
International Panel ◽  
The World

Over the past 30 years, the world has experienced a profound transformation, becoming both more open and more prosperous. Whereas in 1985 more than half of the countries worldwide were under authoritarian rule, most countries today are considered electoral democracies (Economist Intelligence Unit 2017). Since 1990, more than a billion people have been lifted out of extreme poverty (World Bank 2016), while well-being indicators have improved dramatically on a global level, especially in terms of health and education (International Idea 2017).

Algorithms, ontology, and social progress

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 219-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Iliadis
Keyword(s):  
Social Relations ◽  
Social Processes ◽  
Social Progress ◽  
Limited Attention ◽  
Critical Data ◽  
International Panel ◽  
Emerging Media ◽  
Internet Users ◽  
Applied Ontology ◽  
Media And Communication

Recently, media and communication researchers have shown an increasing interest in critical data studies and ways to utilize data for social progress. In this commentary, I highlight several useful contributions in the International Panel on Social Progress (IPSP) report toward identifying key data justice issues, before suggesting extra focus on algorithmic discrimination and implicit bias. Following my assessment of the IPSP’s report, I emphasize the importance of two emerging media and communication areas – applied ontology and semantic technology – that impact internet users daily, yet receive limited attention from critical data researchers. I illustrate two examples to show how applied ontologies and semantic technologies impact social processes by engaging in the hierarchization of social relations and entities, a practice that will become more common as the Internet changes states towards a ‘smarter’ version of itself.

COMMENT ON THE REPORT OF THE INTERNATIONAL PANEL ON SOCIAL PROGRESS, CHAPTER 3: ECONOMIC INEQUALITY AND SOCIAL PROGRESS

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 451-456
Author(s):  
Uma Rani
Keyword(s):  
Political Freedom ◽  
Social Progress ◽  
Economic Opportunity ◽  
Policy Recommendations ◽  
Review Of The Literature ◽  
The Past ◽  
International Panel ◽  
Redistributive Policies ◽  
Different Populations ◽  
Socially Excluded

Chapter 3 discusses the causes, patterns and dynamics of inequalities in an exhaustive review of the literature on inequality of income, expenditure and wealth among individuals and households. It emphasizes how these inequalities reflect and affect inequality along various dimensions, including political freedom, economic opportunity, health, education and social outcomes. It gives three sets of policy recommendations for different populations: (i) policies to improve the conditions among the poor, the vulnerable and the socially excluded; (ii) policies geared towards supporting the growth and sustainability of a strong middle class; and (iii) policies that seek to curb concentration of income and wealth at the top (121). Some of these policy recommendations are quite consistent with what has often been proposed for the past three decades, which is that redistributive policies or welfare at the bottom should benefit the least well-off and address inequality.

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