Against the Odds?: Social Class and Social Justice in Industrial Societies
Gordon Marshall, Adam Swift, and Stephen Roberts
Abstract
What is the relation between social class and social justice? This is currently a matter of public as well as academic controversy. While nobody would deny that the distribution of rewards in industrial societies is unequal, there is sharp disagreement about whether this inequality can be justified. Some see existing patterns of social mobility as evidence of inequality of opportunity. Others regard them as meritocratic, simply reflecting the distribution of abilities among the population. This book brings together recent developments in normative thinking about social justice with recent empi ... More
What is the relation between social class and social justice? This is currently a matter of public as well as academic controversy. While nobody would deny that the distribution of rewards in industrial societies is unequal, there is sharp disagreement about whether this inequality can be justified. Some see existing patterns of social mobility as evidence of inequality of opportunity. Others regard them as meritocratic, simply reflecting the distribution of abilities among the population. This book brings together recent developments in normative thinking about social justice with recent empirical findings about educational attainment and social mobility. The book deals in detail with issues of class and justice.
Keywords:
social class,
social justice,
distribution,
inequality,
social mobility,
opportunity,
education
Bibliographic Information
Print publication date: 1997 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780198292401 |
Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: October 2011 |
DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198292401.001.0001 |
Authors
Affiliations are at time of print publication.
Gordon Marshall, author
Nuffield College, Oxford
Adam Swift, author
Balliol College, Oxford
Stephen Roberts, author
Cardiff University
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