Democratic Culture in America

America has multiple civic traditions and is a nation that blends liberal and illiberal ideals. The Lockean liberal foundations the American civic community is built upon left space for people like Thomas Jefferson to add non-liberal elements to Locke’s theory, so it could better fit the context of the situation. Rogers Smith argues that the political elite fill that space with illiberal values to obtain power or maintain already established power structures.The political elite create “civic myths,” tales that are made from falsehoods, that give the individuals of a certain community greater worth than individuals who do not share the community’s common identity. This can help politicians mobilize their base in times of economic hardship. Since Lockean liberalism gives individuals theirworth based upon their productivity, individuals find their worth in sub-community identities, which politiciansare not afraid to use for their own political gain

Welfare conditionality, inequality and unemployed people with alternative values

Labour and Conservatives’ claims that welfare conditionality is ‘fair’ rely upon an empirically unsupported assumption that almost-equal opportunities can exist alongside starkly unequal outcomes. Fifty interviews examined in-depth a diverse sample’s values, views about work and welfare, and labour market choices. Respondents’ views on equality strongly influenced their views on conditionality and what they considered acceptable labour market behaviour. ‘Alternative’ unemployed respondents, who rejected politicians’ suggestions they ‘should work’, nevertheless favoured an equal society with work obligations and often undertook voluntary work. The article concludes that policymakers should be more sensitive to Jobseeker’s Allowance claimants’ diverse moralities and motivations

Microfinance, Poverty Relief, and Political Justice

Microfinance - the practice of providing small loans to promote entrepreneurial activity among those with few financial assets - is increasingly seen as a sustainable means of aiding the global poor. Perhaps its most influential advocate, Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus, has claimed that there is a human right to microfinance, given its potential for poverty alleviation. This book directs critical philosophical attention at this very widely used and praised poverty-reducing measure. In chapters that discuss microfinance schemes and models around the world, internationally renowned contributors address important questions about both the positive impact of microfinance and cases of exploitation and repayment pressure. Exploring how far microfinance can or should be situated within broader concerns about justice, this volume sheds light on ethical issues that have so far received little systematic attention, and it advances discussion on new human rights, exploitation, and global justice

New ideas of socialism

This paper discusses attempts to rethink socialism in the light of recent economic, social and political developments such as the rise of neo-liberalism, post-fordism, the demise of state socialism and globalization. It posits four new revisionist models of socialism - individualist socialism, market socialism, citizenship (or radical democratic) socialism and associational socialism. It examines each critically, arguing against the first and second models and in favour of the third and fourth. Associationalism, it is argued, provides a means for achieving the goals of citizenship or radical democratic socialism - a participatory pluralist and communitarian socialism. Associationalism, based on a strong role for associations in civil society and a co-operative polity, is outlined and advocated

The Financial Circumstances of Elderly Canadians and the Implications for the Design of Canada’s Retirement Income System

It is well recognized that the incomes of the elderly are on average much lower than those of the non-elderly reflecting their limited participation in the labour market. But do the elderly have lower levels of economic well-being? Indeed, the financial circumstances of the elderly differ significantly from those of the non-elderly and these differences may compensate for lower income, increasing consumption potential relative to the non-elderly. In his paper, Malcolm Hamilton uses hitherto unexploited data from Statistics Canada’s Survey of Consumer Spending to examine the financial circumstances of the elderly and discusses the implications for the design of Canada’s retirement income system. Hamilton notes that there are five reasons why the unadjusted incomes of senior households should not be compared to those of younger households. Younger households often support children; devote a significant portion of their income to acquiring and financing consumer durables (cars, appliances, furniture) that seniors already possess; incur employment-related expenses (union dues, day-care, commuting costs, insurance); save part of their income for retirement; and pay higher taxes, including CPP and Employment Insurance (EI) premiums. Hamilton presents fascinating data for different types of households on uses of income by age group. He shows that the amount of income available for consumption, that is income after taxes, mortgage payments, savings, union dues, day-care and provision for children, is actually greater for fully retired senior couples than for prime age couples ($30,400 versus$28,600) even though average before-tax income of prime age couples is double that of senior couples. According to Hamilton, the data suggest that seniors need only around 50 per cent of their employment income to maintain their standard of living, not the 70 per cent that is commonly assumed in pension discussions. The implications of this finding for the design of the retirement system are many. Since government transfers replace 40 per cent of the income of the typical retiring Canadian, average Canadians will need little in the way of occupational pensions or retirement saving to live comfortably after 65. Most Canadians can retire in comfort if they eliminate debt and save a modest amount to supplement government pensions.Elderly, Canada, Pensions, Survey of Consumer Spending, Seniors, Spending, Savings

Who Is a Journalist and Why Does it Matter? Disentangling the Legal and Ethical Arguments

The contemporary debate about who is a journalist is occurring in two distinct domains: law and professional ethics. Although the debate in these domains is focused on separate problems, participants treat the central question as essentially the same. This article suggests that the debates in law and professional ethics have to be resolved independently and that debate within those domains needs to be more nuanced. In law, it must vary depending on whether the context involves constitutional law, statutory law, or the distribution of informal privileges by government officials. In professional ethics, the debate should not be oriented around a single definitional threshold but should identify tiers that take account of different communicators’ unique goals, tactics, and values

Global Environmental Problems Require Global Solutions : A Case Study in Ecomessianism

Many Western environmental activist groups and theorists have sounded the call for the Earth\u27s salvation from the global environmental crisis. What is lacking, however, is some reflection on the ramifications of framing the problem globally, and on the justifications for particular solutions. This paper examines the ecomessiah (saviors of the Earth) phenomenon to investigate the impacts of these types of programs. Specifically, we examine the global environmental ethic proposed by J. Baird Callicott. His program, presented as an inclusive system that incorporates non-Western belief systems, trades heavily on Western science as an authority and a justification. We contend that his ethic, while well-intentioned, rests on assumptions and uses of science that subvert both non-Western ideologies and non-Western interests rather than revere them. Consequently, the inherent flaws undermine the feel-good one-world rhetoric that he espouses