scholarly journals Inequality - what can be done?

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony B. Aktinson
Keyword(s):  
Social Security ◽  
Economic Inequality ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Debate ◽  
Political Leaders ◽  
Working Paper ◽  
Repeated Calls ◽  
New Policies ◽  
Distribution Of Income

Economic inequality has become centre stage in the political debate, but what the political leaders have not said is what they would do about it. There are repeated calls for equitable growth but little clue as to how this is to be achieved. In this Working Paper, I seek to show what could be done to reduce the extent of inequality if we are serious about that objective. I draw on the lessons of history, and take a fresh look - through distributional eyes - at the underlying economics. I identify ambitious new policies in five areas - technology , employment, social security, the sharing of capital, and taxation - that could bring about a genuine shift in the distribution of income towards less inequality.

scholarly journals On Adenauer, Hegel, and - Migration : (or, How to Interpret Europe's "Crisis")

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bauder Harald
Keyword(s):  
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel ◽  
Philosophical Tradition ◽  
The Political ◽  
Multiple Perspectives ◽  
Political Debate ◽  
Recent Migrant ◽  
Working Paper ◽  
German Philosopher ◽  
And Migration ◽  
To Receive

Germany expects to receive more than 1 million refugees in 2015. While international commentators have admired Chancellor Merkel’s response to this “crisis,” the situation is complex and the German government’s actions and Merkel’s own statements reflect multiple perspectives. In this working paper, I draw on a philosophical tradition dating back to the German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel to interpret the political debate of immigration and Germany’s response to the recent migrant crisis.

The divided country

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcel Fratzscher
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Social Security ◽  
Social Mobility ◽  
Union Membership ◽  
Economic Inequality ◽  
Social Security System ◽  
Security System ◽  
Rich Country ◽  
Political Debate

For Germans and other Europeans, one of the most important issues, if not the most important, is the high and rising degree of social and economic inequality. The Brexit decision by UK citizens was formally about European Union membership, yet those voting against membership indicated that their vote was driven as much by dissatisfaction with factors related to inequality. The general perception is that Germany is not only a very rich country but also a country with a strong social security system, one where wealth and income are distributed fairly and equitably. Yet this notion is false: Germany is actually one of the most unequal countries in the industrialized world. This chapter first highlights the facts relating to inequality of wealth, income, and social mobility. It then discusses why this inequality explains much of the current political debate in Germany and why it hurts economic dynamism, productivity, and welfare.

The Smolensk Scandal and the End of NEP

Slavic Review ◽  
1986 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 689-706 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel R. Brower
Keyword(s):  
Political Conflict ◽  
The Political ◽  
Controversial Issues ◽  
Political Leaders ◽  
Panoramic View ◽  
Short Term ◽  
New Economic Policy ◽  
Russian Economy ◽  
History Of ◽  
New Policies

The events of the last years of NEP—the New Economic Policy—confront historians with two complex and still controversial issues: the effect of these “new” policies on the Russian economy, on society, and on methods of Communist rule in the country and the political conflict dividing the party leadership in the late 1920s. The first issue raises the question of the extent to which NEP was evolving in a direction compatible with the Communists' dream of a socialist society, with the short-term political needs of the Soviet state, and with the priorities of economic development. The second issue focuses on the political instability generated by the controversy over domestic policy and methods of rule, as well as by the personal antagonism between the two key political leaders, Nikolai Bukharin and Stalin. The debate on these questions, answers to which are crucial to our understanding of the origins of Stalinism, has for the most part relied on evidence drawn from central party and state activities, giving the discussion a panoramic view of the history of those years.

Defining Liberalism: the first Home Rule crisis in the Scottish capital

2016 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-30
Author(s):  
M. K. Thompson
Keyword(s):  
The Political ◽  
Perceived Threat ◽  
Home Rule ◽  
Political Debate ◽  
Traditional Assessment ◽  
Core Value ◽  
Irish Question

The nature of liberalism was at the heart of the political debate surrounding the first Irish Home Rule bill in Edinburgh. The rhetoric of the campaign was dominated by the fight for the ownership of liberalism, and it was pivotal for all the candidates standing in Edinburgh to present themselves as liberals, and to define their stance on the Irish question by associating it to a core value of liberalism. Democracy and the protection of minorities were the two values used to justify the candidates’ stances on Irish Home Rule, and the perceived threat of Irish Catholicism was often the focus of the associated arguments. The discourse that resulted from this justification centred on a fight to define the essence of liberalism. Therefore, the Irish Home Rule debate in Edinburgh demonstrates that the Liberal split was more nuanced than the traditional assessment of a Whig versus Radical split. Instead, the debate on the Irish question signified the struggle of liberalism.

The Basic Structure of Society as the Primary Subject of Justice

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel Freeman
Keyword(s):  
Economic System ◽  
Social Institutions ◽  
Basic Structure ◽  
The Political ◽  
Moral Pluralism ◽  
Future Prospects ◽  
Principles Of Justice ◽  
Distribution Of Income

Rawls says that there are two sources for the primacy assigned to the basic structure: the profound effects of basic social institutions on persons and their future prospects, and the need to maintain background justice. This chapter discusses the main reasons behind Rawls’s position that the basic structure of society is the primary subject of justice, and that the political constitution, property, and the economic system are the first subject to which principles of justice apply. First, the primacy of the basic structure is necessary for the freedom, equality, and independence of moral persons. Second, the basic structure’s priority is a condition of economic reciprocity and the just distribution of income and wealth. Third, the primacy of the basic structure is required by moral pluralism and the plurality of values and reasonable conceptions of the good among free and equal persons.

Is political engagement by constitutional monarchs compatible with democracy?

2021 ◽  
pp. 205789112199169
Author(s):  
Kana Inata
Keyword(s):  
Political Engagement ◽  
Historical Narratives ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Involvement ◽  
Political Leaders ◽  
The Public ◽  
Political Preferences ◽  
Public Approval ◽  
Do So

Constitutional monarchies have proved to be resilient, and some have made substantive political interventions even though their positions are mostly hereditary, without granted constitutional channels to do so. This article examines how constitutional monarchs can influence political affairs and what impact royal intervention can have on politics. I argue that constitutional monarchs affect politics indirectly by influencing the preferences of the public who have de jure power to influence political leaders. The analyses herein show that constitutional monarchs do not indiscriminately intervene in politics, but their decisions to intervene reflect the public’s preferences. First, constitutional monarchs with little public approval become self-restraining and do not attempt to assert their political preferences. Second, they are more likely to intervene in politics when the public is less satisfied about the incumbent government. These findings are illustrated with historical narratives regarding the political involvement of King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand in the 2000s.

The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration: a kaleidoscope of international law

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 253-268
Author(s):  
Vincent Chetail
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Soft Law ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Debate ◽  
Global Compact ◽  
Legal Norms ◽  
Hybrid Character ◽  
Normative Content

AbstractThe Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration has prompted an intense political debate at both the international and domestic levels. Most controversies focus on its legal stance and highlight the hybrid character of the Compact as a soft-law instrument. While acknowledging the political nature of the Compact, this paper delves into its legal dimensions from the perspective of international law. This inquiry into its normative content discloses three main features: (1) the Compact is not a codification of international legal norms governing migration; it is an instrument of both (2) consolidation and (3) expansion of international law to foster inter-governmental co-operation and promote safe, orderly and regular migration.

scholarly journals Losing the Discursive Battle but Winning the Ideological War: Who Holds Thatcherite Values Now?

2021 ◽  
pp. 003232172098670
Author(s):  
Stephen Farrall ◽  
Emily Gray ◽  
Phil Mike Jones ◽  
Colin Hay
Keyword(s):  
Survey Data ◽  
Prime Minister ◽  
Public Attitudes ◽  
New Right ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Leaders ◽  
Margaret Thatcher ◽  
The Uk

In what ways, if at all, do past ideologies shape the values of subsequent generations of citizens? Are public attitudes in one period shaped by the discourses and constructions of an earlier generation of political leaders? Using Thatcherism – one variant of the political New Right of the 1980s – as the object of our enquiries, this article explores the extent to which an attitudinal legacy is detectable among the citizens of the UK some 40 years after Margaret Thatcher first became Prime Minister. Our article, drawing on survey data collected in early 2019 (n = 5781), finds that younger generations express and seemingly embrace key tenets of her and her governments’ philosophies. Yet at the same time, they are keen to describe her government’s policies as having ‘gone too far’. Our contribution throws further light on the complex and often covert character of attitudinal legacies. One reading of the data suggests that younger generations do not attribute the broadly Thatcherite values that they hold to Thatcher or Thatcherism since they were socialised politically after such values had become normalised.

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