Welfare and Values Challenging the Culture of Unconcern [Paperback]

This interdisciplinary collection of essays takes a hard look at the gap between increasingly costs expectations of welfare including other social needs and available revenues. It shows that the issue is not a purely economic and certainly not a party-political one, but that it has significant ethical, some call it spiritual, components. From providing initially a broad account of welfare economics it presents contributions from political philosophers and theologians as well as accounts of successful initiatives to indicate the direction for solutions which will correspond to the complex realities of post-modern society.Acknowledgements - List of Contributors - Setting Out Markers; P.Askonas & S.F.Frowen - PART 1: ECONOMIC REALITIES - Crisis in Welfare?; A.Dilnot - A Mixed Economy of Care. The Incisive Role of the Voluntary Sector; J.Kendall & M.Knapp - Transfer Through Taxation. Social Policy in Germany: Past, Present and Outlook for the Future; D.Biehl - Economic Restraints; I.Steedman - PART 2: SELF AND COMMUNITY - 'Doing Theology' - A Platform: Moral and Spiritual Values; Bishop R.Hoare - Jewish Tradition and Ethos of Generosity; M.Tamari - The Idea of the Public Good; J.O'Connell - Theology and Sharing the Economic Cake; P.Vardy - Looking Behind the Scenes: Self-interest, Civic Generosity, Altruism; P.Askonas & C.N.Kwan - PART 3: GENEROSITY - 'Enthusiasm': Charity Projects, Comic Relief; M.Baxter, J.Tewson & M.Walsh - After Darkness: Flourishing of Generosity in an Evolving Environment; M.Saly - PART 4: WHAT CAN BE DONE: BY ECONOMISTS AND POLITICIANS - Economic Expansion; G.Davies - Economic Expansion; S.F.Frowen - Choking on Growth: A Theologian Reflects; F.Turner - On De-escalating Wants; I.Steedman - The Welfare Debate: Managing Self-interest, Self-improvement, Altruism; F.Field - Paying for Social Security: An Ever-rising Spiral?; Sir W.Goodhart - Contribution by Two Faith Groups towards Education Spending; J.Kendall - PART 5: CULTIVATING CIl3,