Seeking Equality: The Political Economy of the Common Good in the United States and Canada
© 2017
Seeking Equality compares economic inequality in the United States and Canada. The North American neighbors have much in common—socially, politically, and economically—yet Canadians enjoy significantly higher levels of equality and material well-being. Harles explores the values and policy decisions that have influenced these different economic outcomes. Drawing on the Canadian experience, he explains why a yawning gap between the very rich and the rest should be cause for civic anxiety in the United States...and what can be done about it.
Product Details
- World Rights
- Page Count: 304 pages
- Dimensions: 6.1in x 0.7in x 9.0in
-
Reviews
"Through a careful and judicious comparison of welfare policy broadly understood and concepts of the common good in Canada and the United States, Harles examines inequality’s danger to individual capabilities, individual public health, cultural unity, justice, and political stability."
C. P. Waligorski
Choice Connect, June 2018 vol. 55 # 10
"This book is a rich and insightful examination of the dramatic differences in inequality in the United States and Canada, despite our shared border and many commonalities. Scholars, politicians, and the public have begun to accept the notion that opportunity is not created equally. This book highlights the important role that national values and policy play in orchestrating flawed systems. Now, more than ever before, we are reflecting upon American and Canadian political differences and collective angst about the stunted economic well-being of families. As this book underscores, history is not destiny. The Canadian model offers glimmers of hope for how to reshape the American Dream for the betterment of the next generation."
Diana Elliott, Senior Research Associate, Urban Institute
"Thanks to John Harles, everybody seeking the common good of less inequality in North America can now tread a path in the full limelight of strong, comparative empirical evidence."
Göran Therborn, University of Cambridge, author of The Killing Fields of Inequality
"Seeking Equality details the tremendously inegalitarian effects of the class war from above in the United States and Canada since the 1970s. It clearly shows that while Canadians have nothing to be complacent about, by every measure the United States has become much more unequal. Harles makes a compelling case regarding the effects that even small differences in cultural values, political structures, and public policy can have. This is an extremely timely book that deserves to be on every required reading list."
Leo Panitch, Emeritus Distinguished Research Professor of Political Science, York University, Toronto -
Author Information
John Harles is Professor of Politics and International Relations at Messiah College. -
Table of contents
Figures and Tables
AcknowledgementsIntroduction
1. Distribution
2. Mobility
3. Values
4. Policy
5. Why it Matters
ConclusionBibliography
Index
-
Subjects and Courses