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Why We Disagree about Inequality

Social Justice vs. Social Order

John Iceland author Eric Silver author Ilana Redstone author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:John Wiley and Sons Ltd

Published:28th Apr '23

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Why We Disagree about Inequality cover

Why do we disagree about the causes of and solutions to social inequality? What explains our different viewpoints on Black Lives Matter, #MeToo, income inequality, and immigration?

In this tightly argued book, John Iceland, Eric Silver, and Ilana Redstone show how two clashing worldviews – one emphasizing Social Justice and another Social Order – are preventing Americans from solving their most pressing social problems.

The authors show how each worldview provides a different understanding of human nature, morality, social change, and the wisdom of the past. They argue that, before Americans can find lasting solutions to today’s seemingly intractable societal challenges, they will need to recognize that each side possesses a wisdom the other lacks. Only then can we achieve the common ground and consensus we seek.

“Americans disagree over the priority of social justice and social order. This simple framework does an astonishing amount of moral, political, and empirical work in explaining contention over fractious issues of racial, gender, and class inequalities, as well as who deserves to become an American. If any book can make us communicate better and engage more effectively, this is the one.”
Jennifer Hochschild, Harvard University

“It might be thought that the typical person’s views about gender, racial, or income inequality are a booming-buzzing admixture of beliefs that accrete in happenstance fashion. Not so! In this elegant contribution, it’s argued that there are but two inequality worldviews in play, each very coherently organized around different first principles. A bold analysis of the cultural underpinnings of today’s inequality wars.”
David B. Grusky, Stanford University

“Original and persuasive. The ‘culture war’ is one of the most important and most discussed but also ill-defined issues shaping contemporary society. The book offers a very useful and well-argued framework for explaining the differences between the two warring parties in the culture war.”
Luke Hildyard, Director of the High Pay Centre

ISBN: 9781509557134

Dimensions: 216mm x 137mm x 15mm

Weight: 272g

208 pages