*Post-Postmodernism, or the Cultural Logic of Just-in-Time Capitalism.  Jeffery T. Nealon (Prof of English, Penn State U).  Palo Alto CA: Stanford U Press, August 2012, 248p, $22.95pb.  We’ve experienced an intensification of post-modern capitalism over the past four decades, an increasing saturation of the economic sphere into formerly independent segments of everyday cultural life.  If “fragmentation” was the preferred watchword of postmodern America, “intensification” is the dominant cultural logic of our contemporary era.  Cultural realms of all kinds have been increasingly overcoded by the languages and practices of economics.   American-style capitalism, despite its recent battering, seems nowhere near the point of obsolescence.  Post-postmodern capitalism is seldom late but always just in time.  As such, it requires an updated conceptual vocabulary for diagnosing and responding to our changed situation.   (SOCIETY * POST-POSTMODERNISM * CAPITALISM: POST-POSTMODERN)

*The New Gilded Age: The Critical Inequality Debates of Our Time.  Edited by David B. Grusky (Prof of Sociology and Director, Center for the Study of Poverty and Inequality, Stanford U) and Tamar Kricheli-Katz (Asst Prof of Sociology, Tel Aviv U).  Palo Alto CA: Stanford U Press, May 2012, 320p, $24.95pb.  Income inequality is an increasingly pressing issue in the US and around the world.  Explores five questions about income, gender, and racial inequality:  1) Do we have a moral obligation to eliminate poverty?  2) Is inequality a necessary evil that is the best available way to motivate economic action and increase economic output?  3) Can we retain a meaningful democracy even when extreme inequality allows the rich to purchase political privileges?  4) Is the recent stalling out of long-term declines in gender inequality a historic reversal that presages a new gender order? 5) How are racial and ethnic inequalities likely to evolve as minority populations grow larger, and as intermarriage increases?  (SOCIETY * INCOME INEQUALITY* INEQUALITY * DEMOCRACY AND INEQUALITY * GENDER INEQUALITY)

*Rights Gone Wrong: How Law Corrupts the Struggle for Equality.  Richard Thompson Ford  (Prof of Law, Stanford U).  NY: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, Nov 2011, 272p, $27.    Both the progressive left and the colorblind right are guilty of the same error: defining discrimination too abstractly and condemning it too categorically.  Many progressives insist that any policies and practices that disadvantage people on the basis of race, sex, age, or disability should be illegal.  Many conservatives insist that the Constitution is colorblind, and the government should thus never take race into account under any circumstances.  Both left and right reject reasonable, prudent, and innocent distinctions.  Judges and government officials thus concentrate on eliminating even trivial forms of discrimination, at the expense of more effective means of social justice like expanding opportunities for the poor.  Ford calls for a more “nuanced” approach to civil rights, and a return to thoughtful and pragmatic judges who distinguish justified from unjustified acts of discrimination, rejecting selfish or perverse claims of rights gone wrong while protecting people from serious indignities.  “Like an overprescribed antibiotic that kills beneficial organisms, the civil rights approach to social justice, once a miracle cure, now threatens to do more harm than good.”                   (SOCIETY * CIVIL RIGHTS * INEQUALITY * DISCRIMINATION AND LAW)

* Perspectives on Global Development 2012: Social Cohesion in a Shifting World.  Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.  Paris: OECD, Nov 2011, 200p.  “Shifting wealth" – a process that started in the 1990s and took off in the 2000s – has led to a completely new geography of growth driven by the economic rise of large developing countries, in particular China and India.  “The center of economic gravity of the world has progressively shifted from West to East and from North to South, resulting in a new geography of growth.” More than 80 countries grew twice as fast as the OECD average in the last decade, lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty.  The resulting re-configuration of the global economy will shape the political, economic and social agendas of international development as those of the converging and poor countries for the years to come.  Recent events in well-performing countries in the Arab world (but also beyond such as in Thailand, China and India) seem to suggest that economic growth, rising fiscal resources, and improvements in education are not sufficient  to create cohesion; governments need to address social deficits and actively promote social cohesion if long-term development is to be sustainable.  This report examines social cohesion in fast-growing developing countries and provides policy makers with recommendations for ways to strengthen it. A cohesive society works towards the well-being of all its members, fights exclusion and marginalization, creates a sense of belonging, promotes trust, and offers its members the opportunity of upward mobility.  Social cohesion is viewed through three different, but equally important lenses: social inclusion, social capital, and social mobility.  Concludes with a policy agenda for social cohesion, including sustainable fiscal policies, employment and social protection policies, enhancing civic participation, and coordinating actions across policy areas.  [NOTE: An important re-grouping of the obsolete “Third World” category into “converging” and “poor” countries.]                                                                  (DEVELOPMENT *

 

* Doing Better for Families.  Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.  Paris: OECD, April 2011, 278p, €28 .  All OECD governments want to give parents more choice in their work and family decisions.  This report looks at the different ways in which governments support families.  It overviews changes in family formation, household structure, work-life balance, and child well-being; explores use of family policy tools such as benefit packages, spending by age and families with young children; monitors fertility trends (particularly the late 1990s rebound experienced by a large number of states); tracks efforts to reduce barriers to parental employment (through the design of parental leave policy, childcare policy, flexible workplace practices, national tax/benefit systems and financial incentive structures); and looks at policies targeting single-parent families and child maltreatment. 

* How's Life?  Measuring Well-Being.  Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.  Paris: OECD, Oct 2011, 284p, $34 .  Shapers of people’s lives and well-being include income, wealth, jobs, housing, health, work and life-balance, education and skills, social connections, civic engagement, governance, environment, personal security, and subjective well-being.  The report finds that “well-being has increased on average over the past 15 years: people are richer and more likely to be employed; they enjoy better housing conditions and are exposed to lower air pollution; they live longer and are more educated; they are also exposed to fewer crimes. But differences across countries are large.  Furthermore, some groups of the population, particularly less educated and low-income people, tend to fare systematically worse in all dimensions of well-being.  The report is part of the OECD Better Life Initiative, which aims to promote "Better Policies for Better Lives.”  In line with this initiative is the Your Better Life Index (www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org), an interactive composite index that aims at involving citizens in the debate on societal progress.  Some findings on selected indicators: 1) Income and Wealth (“income inequality has been rising in many countries”); 2) Health Status (people in most OECD countries report good or very good health, but a large proportion report chronic health conditions and there are large health disparities across income groups); 3) Civic Engagement (most OECD countries report declining participation rates over the last few decades, despite a shift toward greater transparency and consultation in rule-making; 4) Environmental Quality (the impact of pollutants, hazardous substances, and noise on people’s health is sizeable); 5) Subjective Well-Being (“average life satisfaction appears to have increased over the past 30 years in some countries and stagnated in others”).                                                                 (SOCIETY * WELL-BEING: OECD OVERVIEW) 

* Human Development Report 2011: Sustainability and Equity—Challenges for Human Development.  United Nations Development Programme.  NY: United Nations Publications, Nov 2011, 180p, $43.  Examines the urgent global challenge of sustainable development and its relationship to rising inequality within and among countries, as well as long-term inequality trends at national and global level.  Notes that “those who will suffer most from climate change are disproportionately those least responsible for environmental deterioration.”  Seeks to identify policies that would make development both more sustainable and more equitable in coming decades.          (INEQUALITY RISING *

* Lost in Transition: The Dark Side of Emerging Adulthood.  Christian Smith (Prof of Sociology, U of Notre Dame) NY: Oxford UP, Sept 2011, 312p, $27.95pb.  Life for emerging adults is vastly different today than it was for their counterparts even a generation ago. Young people are waiting longer to marry, have children, and to choose a career direction.  As a result, they enjoy more freedom and opportunities than ever before.  But the transition to adulthood is more complex, disjointed, and confusing.  Draws on 230 in-depth interviews with a broad cross-section of emerging adults (ages 18-23) to identify five major problems they face: confused moral reasoning, routine intoxication, materialistic life goals, regrettable sexual experiences, and disengagement from civic and political life.  Much of the responsibility for the pain and confusion young people face has deep roots in mainstream American culture. 

* Establishing a Resource-Circulating Society in Asia: Challenges and Opportunities (Sustainability Science series).  Edited by Tohru Morioka, Keisuke Hanaki and Yuichi Morigichi.  Tokyo & NY:  United Nations U Press, March 2011, 375p, $37pb.  Addresses issues associated with resource-circulating societies, with focus on Asia – whose growth is prominent both in population and economy.  Examines theories and visions pertinent to resource-circulating societies, as well as practices and initiatives at all levels, and proposes an integrative approach combining the concepts of a low-carbon and a resource-circulating society.              (SUSTAINABILITY * RESOURCE-CIRCULATING SOCIETY)

* Designing Our Future: Local Perspectives on Bioproduction, Ecosystems, and Humanity (Sustainability Science series).  Edited by Mitsuru Osaki, Ademola K. Braimoh and Ken’ichi Nakagami.  Tokyo & NY:  United Nations U Press, Jan 2011, 504p, $39pb.  On the ideal of a society in harmony with nature. Examines relationships between villages and towns, their independence and access to natural renewable energy and material circulation systems, and necessary collaboration among diverse elements.  Stresses the importance of fostering local traditions and cultures, and local ways of thinking that steer toward coexistence with nature.  (SUSTAINABILITY * SOCIETY: HARMONY WITH NATURE)

* We Have Met the Enemy: Self-Control in an Age of Excess.  Daniel Akst (Hudson Valley NY; former Fellow, UC-Berkeley, Graduate School of Journalism; public policy scholar, Woodrow Wilson International Center, Washington).  NY: Penguin, Jan 2011, 304p, $26.95.  More calories, distractions, sex, and intoxicants are more readily and privately available than at any time in memory.  “The weapons of mass consumption—McDonald’s, credit cards, the Internet—are everywhere.” Pornography and gambling are now instantly and anonymously accessible to anyone on the Internet.  While temptations—overeating, overspending, procrastination, wayward sex--have multiplied, many of the longstanding social constraints on behavior have eroded. Tradition, ideology, and religion have lost their grip on many of us, while commonly accepted standards of attire, speech, and comportment in the public sphere have largely dissolved.  Financial constraints were swept away by surging affluence and the remarkable openhandedness of lenders.  The financial crisis of 2008 was the best example yet of the self-control challenge posed by modern life.  For affluent societies, the struggle for self-mastery is the preeminent challenge of our times.                                (SOCIETY * SELF-CONTROL IN AGE OF EXCESS)

* The Atlas of Global Inequalities.  Ben Crow (Prof of Sociology, U of California, Santa Cruz) and Suresh K. Lodha (Prof of Computer Science, UC, Santa Cruz).  Berkeley CA: U of California Press, Feb 2011, 128p, $21.95pb (produced by Myriad Editions, Brighton UK).   Organized in nine thematic parts, revealing differences between and within countries with maps, charts, and brief discussion: 1) Economic Inequalities (income, household wealth, consumption, work and unemployment, labor migration to help address global inequalities; 2) Power Inequalities (international trade, budget priorities, government action, measures of freedom and democracy, rates of imprisonment and execution); 3) Social Inequalities (gender, age, class, race/ethnicity, child labor); 4) Inequalities of Access (poverty, hunger, household water and fuel, energy, mobility, the digital divide); 5) Health (life expectancy, maternal and child mortality, access to healthcare, infectious diseases); 6) Education (literacy, barriers to education, early childhood care/education); 7) Environment (climate change impacts, deforestation, air pollution, clean water and sanitation); 8) Towards Equality (on state and international action); 9) Data, Definitions, and Sources.  [Also see The Haves and the Have-Nots: A Brief and Idiosyncratic History of Global Inequality by World Bank economist Branko Milanovic (Basic Books, Jan 2011, 258p, $27.95), who notes that 60% of a person’s income is determined by place of birth.]  

* Lament for America: Decline of the Superpower, Plan for Renewal.  Earl H. Fry (Prof of Pol Sci and Canadian Studies, Brigham Young U).  Toronto: U of Toronto Press, June 2010/227p.  No superpower is too big to fail, and “tragically, over the past 10 years, the US has become less prosperous, less egalitarian, and less democratic.  In view of its serious challenges at home and overextended commitments abroad, the US can ill afford to be complacent about the decade ahead.”  The US is in the throes of decline, and 15 major fault lines are examined.  “It is almost inevitable that America’s superpower status will experience relative decline between 2010 and 2050,” with repercussions reverberating throughout the world.  Chapters discuss Beltway follies, indebtedness, unsustainable foreign policy, and the rise of competitor nations.  Concludes with a positive scenario of the US in 2050, involving meaningful campaign finance reform, control of health care expenses, a revamped tax code with strengthened compliance, revamped K-12 education, illegal immigration curtailed, military spending reduced, etc.                                   (SOCIETY * U.S. IN DECLINE)

* The Measure of America, 2010-2011: Mapping Risks and Resilience. American Human Development Report.  Kristen Lewis (lead author on water and sanitation report, UN Millennium Project) and Sarah Burd-Sharps (former deputy director, UNDP Human Development Report Office).   NY: New York U Press & Social Science Research Council, Nov 2010/304p (8x10”)/$24.95pb.  The American Human Development Index provides a single measure of the well-being for all Americans, disaggregated by state, congressional district, race, gender, and ethnicity.  Reveals huge disparities in health, education, and living standards for different groups; for example, between the states of Connecticut (ranked first) and Mississippi (ranked last) there seems to be a 30 year gap in human development. This second edition of the Index series reflects threats to progress and opportunities for some Americans, and highlights approaches to foster resilience among different groups.

*Punishing Race: A Continuing American Dilemma.  Michael Tonry (Prof of Law and Public Policy, U of Minnesota).  NY: Oxford UP, Feb 2011/208p/$24.95.  A leading criminologist notes that one-third of young black men are controlled by the justice system and black men are seven times likelier than whites to be in prison.  These patterns result from crime and drug control policies that disproportionately affect black Americans.  The criminal justice system is simply the latest in a series of devices that maintain white dominance over blacks.   Pushes for changes in racial profiling and sentencing to reduce their huge human and social costs.       (CRIME/JUSTICE * SOCIETY: RACE * RACIAL PROFILING)

* Brain Gain: Rethinking U.S. Immigration Policy.  Darrell M. West (VP and director, Brookings Governance Studies).  Washington DC: Brookings Institution Press, Aug 2010/160p/$24.95.  Addresses why immigration policy is so politically difficult in the US, despite the substantial social, economic, intellectual, and cultural benefits it brings.  Identifies a problem “largely of vision”: public discourse and political debates emphasize the perceived downsides only and the “myopic press” is to blame. Advocates immigration policy reforms that: 1) improve legal justice, 2) take border security more seriously, 3) tighten employment verification, 4) depoliticize political conflict through an independent commission, 5) tie immigration levels to national economic cycles, 6) take stronger steps to integrate new immigrants into American life.            (SOCIETY * IMMIGRATION POLICY * MIGRATION)

* The Child: An Encyclopedic Companion.     Edited by Richard A. Shweder (Distinguished Prof of Anthropology, U of Chicago). U of Chicago Press, Sept 2009/1160p/$75. Offers both parents and professionals access to the best scholarship from all areas of child studies, and from all regions of the world; over 500 articles consider such topics as child development, education, home schooling in the US, law, adoption in different cultures and at different times, public policy in the US and elsewhere, and the many worlds of childhood within the US and around the world.       (CHILDREN * ENCYCLOPEDIA)

 

** Doing Better for Children. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. OECD, Sept 2009/195p. Analyzes indicators of child well-being across the OECD in six key areas: material well-being, housing and environment, education, health and safety, risk behaviors, and quality of school life; finds that “no one OECD country performs well in all areas, and that every OECD country can do more to improve children’s lives”; also examines country policies for children under age 3, the impact of single parenthood on children, and the effect of inequalities across generations. The way forward involves early investment in children’s lives, concentrating on vulnerable children, collecting high-quality information on well-being, etc.        (CHILDREN: OECD COMPARISON* INDICATORS: OECD CHILD WELL-BEING)

 

* Red Families v. Blue Families: Legal Polarization and the Creation of Culture. Naomi Cahn (Prof of Law, GWU) and June Carbone (Chair of Law, UM-Kansas City). NY: Oxford UP, Jan 2010/288p/$29.95. The Blue Family Paradigm emphasizes women’s workplace participation, egalitarian gender roles, and delay of family formation, while the Red Family Paradigm rejects these new family norms; yet, the areas of the US most committed to traditional “Red” values have the highest divorce and teen pregnancy rates, fueling greater calls for traditional values.                                              (SOCIETY)

* The Making of an Elder Culture: Reflections on the Future of America’s Most Audacious Generation. Theodore Roszak (Prof Emeritus of History, Cal State U-Hayward). New Society Publishers, Sept 2009/288p/$18.95pb. Author of 15 books, including The Making of a Counter Culture (1969), reminds retiring boomers of the creative role they once played, and of the moral and intellectual resources they have for radical transformation in their later years. Predicts an “elder insurgency” where boomers return to take up what they left undone in their youth, fusing the green, the gray, and the just for a truly sustainable future.                                     (SOCIETY: U.S. * ELDER CULTURE)

 

* Blurring the Color Line: The New Chance for a More Integrated America. Richard Alba (Distinguished Prof of Sociology, CUNY Graduate Center). The Nathan I. Huggins Lectures. Cambridge: Harvard UP, Sept 2009/296p/$29.95. In coming decades, the social cleavages that separate Americans into distinct unequal ethno-racial groups could narrow dramatically; as the baby boom generation retires, many fewer whites will be coming of age, creating an opportunity for other groups to move up—if provided with access to education and training.                                           (SOCIETY * MINORITIES)

 

* The Insecure American: How We Got Here and What We Should Do About It. Edited by Hugh Gusterson (Prof of Anthropology, George Mason U) and Catherine Besteman (Prof of Anthropology, Colby College). Foreword by Barbara Ehrenreich. U of California Press, Nov 2009/348p/$24.95pb. Essays from 19 ethnographers on an anxious country, as concerns the new economy, the “war on terror,” the “war on drugs,” racial resentments, a fraying safety net, undocumented immigration, a health care system in crisis, and alternatives to an insecure life.        (U.S. SOCIETY * ANXIETY IN U.S.)

 

** The Future of International Migration to OECD Countries. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. OECD, Aug 2009/285p. Explores forces that may attract migrants to OECD countries or persuade them to stay at home under five 2030 scenarios: Progress for All, OECD Long Boom (gap between OECD and BRIC countries grows), Uneven Progress (gap between OECD and LDCs grows), Globalization Falters (dramatically reduced demand in all nations), and Decoupled Destinies (opportunity improves in non-OECD nations); overall in all scenarios, demand for migrants will persist (albeit at different levels), and “migration flows are very likely to rise or at least remain constant over the next 20 years,” but migration flows are unlikely to offset the economic effects of population aging.