Author: Daniel Shapiro File Type: pdf In this book, Daniel Shapiro argues that the dominant positions in contemporary political philosophy - egalitarianism, positive rights theory, communitarianism, and many forms of liberalism - should converge in a rejection of central welfare state institutions. He examines how major welfare institutions, such as government-financed and -administered retirement pensions, national health insurance, and programs for the needy, actually work. Comparing them to compulsory private insurance and private charities, Shapiro argues that the dominant perspectives in political philosophy mistakenly think that their principles support the welfare state. Instead, egalitarians, positive rights theorists, communitarians, and liberals have misunderstood the implications of their own principles, which in fact support more market-based or libertarian institutional conclusions than they may realize. Shapiros book is unusual in its combination of political philosophy with social science. Its focus is not limited to any particular country rather it examines welfare states in affluent democracies and their market alternatives. Argues that supporters of the welfare state should, following their own premises, actually oppose it Does comparative institutional analysis compares real welfare state institutions with real market-based alternatives Combines focus on basic principles in political philosophy with social science analysis of institutionsReviewThis is a marvelous, unusual book. Its one of the few attempts in political philosophy that go beyond examining what principles of justice require, by investigating whether contemporary institutions designed to produce those outcomes actually do better than realistic alternatives. I suspect it will have a large audience not only among normative political theorists, who will find stimulating its challenges to welfare state institutions they have taken for granted, but among policy analysts and public-administration specialists with a reflective bent. Its a fresh and welcome approach to political theory that could prompt a long-overdue movement to bring theory out of the clouds. -Jeffrey Friedman, Editor of Critical ReviewThis book is an important addition to the debate about the welfare state. The books distinctive character is a very strong focus not on the philosophical duel between competiting normative principles, but, rather, on empirical studies about how the institutions under assessment work. Shapiro adds a new twist to the a debate, which, among philosophers, usually involves dueling principles which cannot really inflict wounds upon one another. Shapiros method for breaking out of the deadlock of dueling principles accounts for the most striking features of his manuscript, its extensive and quite remarkable survey of the social science literature on the operation of the relevant institutions and his integration of this material into arguments for and against the welfare state. -Eric Mack, Professor of Philosophy at Tulane UniversityI can only hope that our policymakers will read Dr. Shapiros book. His insight on the philosophy of the welfare state outclasses anything that I have read prior. -David Allen, The State JournalThe strengths of Shapiros approach are twofold. First, he develops his analysis by integrating the insights of two disciplinary traditions...Second, Shapiro explicitly addresses the distinctive normative concerns of egalitarian liberals and communitarians, particularly their insistence that income transfer programmes should prioritize the normative requirements of social justice .... In drawing our attention to the possibility that collectivist aims and values can be pursued through a well-designed combination of public and private retirement provision, Shapiros book represents an important contribution to the literature, reinforcing the growing recognition among pensions scholars that privatization can be consistent with the normative requirements of justice. -Mark Hyde & John Dixon, Poverty and Public Policy, 2009 Professor Daniel Shapiro was a Senior Research Scholar of the Social Philosophy and Policy Center during the 2005-2006 academic year and a Visiting Scholar there for the 1995-1996 academic year. The Centers support enabled him to research and complete this book. Book DescriptionIn this book, Daniel Shapiro argues that the dominant positions in contemporary political philosophy - egalitarianism, positive rights theory, communitarianism, and many forms of liberalism - should converge in a rejection of central welfare state institutions. He examines how major welfare institutions, such as government-financed and -administered retirement pensions, national health insurance, and programs for the needy, actually work. Comparing them to compulsory private insurance and private charities, Shapiro argues that the dominant perspectives in political philosophy mistakenly think that their principles support the welfare state. Instead, egalitarians, positive rights theorists, communitarians, and liberals have misunderstood the implications of their own principles, which in fact support more market-based or libertarian institutional conclusions than they may realize. Shapiros book is unique in its combination of political philosophy with social science. Its focus is not limited to any particular country rather it examines welfare states in affluent democracies and their market alternatives.

Author: Nathaniel Philbrick File Type: epub bA charming memoir of midlife by the bestselling author of bbMayflower and In the Hurricanes Eyebb, recounting his attempt to recapture a national sailing championship hed won at twenty-two.b There had been something elemental and all consuming about a Sunfish. Nothing could compare to the exhilaration of a close race in a real blowthe wind howling and spray flying as my Sunfish and I punched through the waves to the finish. In the spring of 1992, Nat Philbrick was in his late thirties, living with his family on Nantucket, feeling stranded and longing for that thrill of victory he once felt after winning a national sailing championship in his youth. Was it a midlife crisis? It was certainly a watershed for the journalist-turned-stay-at-home dad, who impulsively decided to throw his hat into the ring, or water, again. With the bemused approval of his wife and children, Philbrick used the off-season on the island as his solitary training ground, sailing his tiny Sunfish to its remotest corners, experiencing the haunting beauty of its tidal creeks, inlets, and wave-battered sandbars. On ponds, bays, rivers, and finally at the championship on a lake in the heartland of America, he sailed through storms and memories, racing for the prize, but finding something unexpected about himself instead.span 13pxspanspan 13pxAbout the Authorspan Nathaniel Philbrick is the author of In the Heart of the Sea , winner of the National Book Award Mayflower , finalist for the Pulitzer Prize Bunker Hill , winner of the New England Book Award Sea of Glory The Last Stand Why Read Moby Dick? Valiant Ambition and Away Off Shore.