The Well-Being of Children in a Changing Economy: Time for a New Social Contract in America: Leslie S. Gallay and Constance A. Flanagan

2012 ◽  
pp. 14-44
Keyword(s):  
Social Contract ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Changing Economy

Capitalism Beyond Mutuality?

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Social Contract ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Business Practice ◽  
Business Leaders ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Economic Paradigm ◽  
The Social ◽  
Modern Economic ◽  
Great Output

Our quest for prosperity has produced great output but not always great outcomes. The list of concerns is growing and familiar. Fundamentally, when it comes to well-being, fairness, and the scope of our humanity, the modern economic system still leaves much to be desired. In turn, trust in business and the liberal market system (aka “capitalism”) has been declining and regulation has been rising. A variety of forces—civic, economic, and intellectual—have been probing for better alternatives. The contributions in this volume, coauthored by eminent philosophers, social scientists, and a handful of thoughtful business leaders, are submitted in this spirit. The thrust of the work is conveyed in the volume’s titular question: Capitalism Beyond Mutuality? Mutuality, or the exchange of benefits, has been established as the prime principle of interaction in addressing the chronic dilemma of human interdependence. Mutuality is a fundament in the social contract approach and it serves us well. Yet, to address the concerns outlined here, we must help evolve an economic paradigm where mutuality is more systematically complemented by reasoned and elective morality. Otherwise the state will remain the sole (if inadequate) protector and buffer between market and society. Hence, rather than just regulate power we must also educate power. Philosophy has a natural role, especially when education is the preferred vehicle of transformation. Accordingly, the essays in this volume integrate philosophy and social science to outline and explore concrete approaches to these important concerns emanating from business practice and theory.

Productivity Measurement: Racing to Keep Up

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 591-614
Author(s):  
Daniel E. Sichel
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
Economic Welfare ◽  
Aggregate Productivity ◽  
Review Of The Literature ◽  
Productivity Measurement ◽  
Changing Economy

This article provides a nontechnical review of the literature and issues related to the measurement of aggregate productivity. I begin with a discussion of productivity measures, their performance in recent decades, and key measurement puzzles that emerge from the data. The remainder of the review focuses on two important questions. First, how do we make more accurate the measures of prices used to deflate nominal output so as to win (or at least not lose) the race for economic measurement to keep up with a changing economy? I frame the issues and point to the most important and promising areas for further research. Second, what does or should GDP measure? I defend GDP as a valuable measure of production and offer suggestions for improving it. At the same time, I emphasize the importance of measuring economic welfare (well-being) and argue that GDP should be supplemented with a satellite account that measures economic welfare.

Evaluating the American Nurses Association’s arguments against nurse participation in assisted suicide

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 124-133
Author(s):  
Eric Vogelstein
Keyword(s):  
Social Contract ◽  
Assisted Suicide ◽  
Code Of Ethics ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Position Statement ◽  
Discussion Paper ◽  
Sanctity Of Life ◽  
Official Statement ◽  
American Nurses Association

This discussion paper critically assesses the American Nurses Association’s stated arguments against nurse participation in assisted suicide, as found in its current (2013) position statement. Seven distinct arguments can be gleaned from the American Nurses Association’s statement, based on (1) the American Nurses Association’s Code of Ethics with Interpretive Statements and its injunction against nurses acting with the sole intent to end life, (2) the risks of abuse and misuse of assisted suicide, (3) nursing’s social contract or covenant with society, (4) the contention that nurses must not harm their patients, (5) the sanctity of life, (6) the traditions of nursing, and (7) the fundamental goals of nursing. Each of these arguments is evaluated, and none are found to be convincing. This is crucial because the American Nurses Association’s official stance on nurse participation in assisted suicide can have significant consequences for the well-being of nurses who care for patients in jurisdictions in which assisted suicide is legally available. The American Nurses Association should therefore have a strong and convincing justification for opposing the practice, if it is to take such a position. That it fails to evince such a justification in its official statement on the matter places a burden on the American Nurses Association to more strongly justify its position, or else abandon its stance against nurse participation in assisted suicide.

The Free-Market Family

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maxine Eichner
Keyword(s):  
Social Contract ◽  
Social Order ◽  
Family Policy ◽  
Free Market ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Work And Family ◽  
Market Forces ◽  
Full Potential ◽  
Family Ties

This book critiques the expectation embodied in American public policy today that families will privately provide the resources and circumstances they and their members need through the market and without the help of government. This expectation, it argues, is eroding the well-being of American families across the economic spectrum. Free-market family policy, it asserts, is undermining the promise of the American Dream, which envisions a social order that helps all people reach their full potential and that supports the opportunity for all to lead rich, fulfilling lives. Without thriving families, children can’t reach their full promise; nor can most adults live happy lives without strong family ties. Despite this, under free-market family policy, market forces are decimating the well-being of families. Part I demonstrates how the rising economic inequality and insecurity of the past several decades are making it increasingly difficult for family members to reconcile work and family, are destabilizing marriages and cohabiting relationships among poor and working-class adults, and are making it impossible for families at all income levels to secure for their children the circumstances they need to flourish. Part II shows that, for much of our nation’s history, government’s responsibility to buffer families from market forces was considered a key part of the social contract. It is only in recent decades that free-market family policy has supplanted this social contract. Part III considers how the United States can construct an economy that supports families and truly enables them to thrive.

scholarly journals Social innovations as a basis for sustainable development of the industrial region

2021 ◽  
Vol 258 ◽  
pp. 06010
Author(s):  
Anna Kisova ◽  
Kristina Barsukova
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Social Contract ◽  
Social Entrepreneurship ◽  
Lean Manufacturing ◽  
Reproductive Function ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Economic Security ◽  
Industrial Region ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Innovations

The aim of the work is to study the relationship between the sustainable development of an industrial region and social innovations. The paper highlights its features high-quality economic growth, the pace of socio-economic development, lean manufacturing, the introduction of high technologies, ensuring economic security, social innovations, considering the studied theoretical ideas about the essence and content of sustainable development of the industrial region. The author’s interpretation of the economic content of the concept of “social innovations» is justified. They represent qualitative changes in the areas of continuous reproduction of human and social capital to eliminate contradictions in economic interests and improve personal and public well-being. The features of social innovations (anthropocentrism, strategic nature, inertia, specificity, synergy, creativity, high degree of risk), reflecting their qualitative certainty, are revealed. The author argues that social innovations are a multi-faceted and rather complex economic category, the content of which should be considered through its types and forms of implementation. Using the example of an industrial region, the Lipetsk region, the authors studied such types of social innovations as the social contract and social entrepreneurship. As a result of the research, it is established that the social contract can be one of the sources of social entrepreneurship, which in turn determines the reproductive function of social innovations. Also, social innovations are an effective tool for improving the level of personal and public well-being by reducing contradictions in society and reducing social tension.

Reform and the Redefinition of the Social Contract under Gorbachev

1991 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 284-312 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janine Ludlam
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Social Contract ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Blue Collar ◽  
Soviet Society ◽  
Know How ◽  
Blue Collar Workers ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
The Social

The concept of “social contract” is useful in understanding the process of reform currently under way in the Soviet Union. The social contract “concluded” by Khrushchev and Brezhnev provided the population with economic guarantees but deprived it of any political power. Their contract was geared primarily toward less educated, blue-collar workers. During the past seventy years Soviet society has become industrialized, urbanized, and educated. Gorbachev has understood that the well-being of the Soviet economy will in the future rest on the labor and know-how of skilled and educated professionals. He must therefore conclude a new contract that will be advantageous to this sector of society in order to ensure its participation in his efforts to reform the economy.

scholarly journals Beyond God and government: The role of personal control in supporting citizens’ well-being in the face of changing economy and rising inequality

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thuy-vy Nguyen ◽  
Jonathon McPhetres ◽  
Edward L. Deci
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Religious Belief ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Personal Control ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Trust In Government ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Changing Economy

Based on previous theoretical models, the present research investigated three different psychological constructs (religious belief, trust in government, and the experience of personal control) as moderators of the link between country’s economic growth (i.e., Gross Domestic Product) and income inequality (i.e., Gini) on health, happiness, and life satisfaction. Using a large cross-national data set (N = 490,579), we found that personal control predicted health, happiness, and life satisfaction above and beyond reliance on God and trust in government. Religious belief predicted greater health and buffered the negative effect of income inequality on health only in wealthy economies, but yielded negative correlations with health in poor economies. The associations between personal control and trust in government with well-being outcomes were consistently positive across different levels of countries’ GDP and Gini. Further, personal control also served a compensatory function by buffering the negative effect of income inequality in wealthy economies.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document