A “color-blind” post-racial world is neither achievable nor desirable. Race remains essential to our understanding of social reality, one of the fundamental media through which we experience human otherness. “Race also makes racism visible, and is thus our best weapon against it.” Discusses three moments when the power of race was apparent in recent history: 1) the post-Civil Rights moment of theory; 2) the moment of blackness, epitomized by the election of Barack Obama, and 3) the “Semitic Moment” in Israel-Palestine, where race and racism converge in new forms of anti-semitism and Islamophobia.

(SOCIETY * RACE)

Taking a “point/counterpoint” approach, the authors consider what marriage is for, whether it is meant to be a gendered institution, why the state is in the business of sanctioning marriage, where needs of children fit in, and whether legalization of same-sex marriage can lead to legalization of polygamy. Corvino argues that society should support same-sex marriage because of its interest in supporting stable households for all its members, gay and straight alike. Gallagher argues that government recognition of same-sex unions as marriages will disconnect marriage from its key public mission of furthering responsible procreation.

(SOCIETY * MARRIAGE * SAME-SEX MARRIAGE * HOMOSEXUALITY)

Sustainable peace is at risk when significant stakeholders in a society’s future are excluded from efforts to heal the wounds of war. Yet women are routinely marginalized, unnoticed, and underutilized in such efforts. Uses comparative case studies and country studies from post-conflit contexts in different parts of the world to better understand women as both victims and peace-makers. Draws on African cases to argue that for women in post-conflict societies, “defying victimhood” means being an activist, peace-builder, and full participant in post-war structures.

(WORLD FUTURES * PEACEBUILDING * SOCIETY * WOMEN AS PEACEBUILDERS)

Presents an account of the explosive fusion of Muslim immigration in Europe, Islamist grievance, and second-generation alienation to explain the tensions between Muslims and their European hosts, the failure of immigration and integration efforts in Europe, and to lessons for America. Warns that “conflating rioters and Islamists, folk and fundamentalist Muslims, pietists and Jihadists, immigrants and their children is the method of strategic incoherence.”

(MUSLIMS IN EUROPE * IMMIGRATION IN EUROPE * EUROPE’S MUSLIMS)

Europeans save at high rates despite their generous welfare programs and aging populations, while Americans save little, spend much, and borrow excessively, despite weaker social safety nets and a younger population. Other nations aggressively encourage their citizens to save by means of special savings institutions and savings campaigns; by contrast, the US government and businesses promote mass consumption and reliance on credit. Institutions and moral suasion shape habits of saving and spending; in America they normalize practices of living beyond one’s means.

(SOCIETY * ECONOMY * SAVING: U.S. AND WORLD)

“Fear is more narcissistic than other emotions”. Legitimate anxieties become distorted and displaced, driving laws and policies biased against those different from us. Calls for seeking consistent application of universal principles, seeking friendship across religious lines, and establishing a consistent ethic of decency and civility. With this greater understanding and respect, we can rise above the politics of fear and toward a more open and inclusive future.

(RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE * POLITICS OF FEAR * FEAR AND POLITICS)

Every liberal democracy has laws or codes against hate speech – except the US. For constitutionalists, regulation of hate speech violates the First Amendment and damages a free society. Waldron argues for regulating hate speech as part of our commitment to human dignity, inclusion, and respect for members of vulnerable communities. Defamation of a minority group, through hate speech, undermines a public good that can and should be protected: the basic assurance of inclusion in society for all members. Free-speech advocates despise what racists say, but defend their right to say it; this emphasis is misguided.

(SOCIETY * HATE SPEECH REGULATION * LAW AND HATE SPEECH)

For many, markets are the most efficient way to organize production and distribution in a complex economy. But categories previously used by philosophers and economists are of limited use in addressing “noxious markets” in addictive drugs or sex. Satz offers a broader and more nuance view of the market as a social mechanism – one that goes beyond the usual discussions of efficiency and distributional equality – to show how markets shape our culture, foster or thwart human development, and create and support structures of power.

(MARKETS AS SOCIAL MECHANISM * SOCIETY * ECONOMY)

The day after the 9/11 terrorist attacks destroyed New York's World Trade Center, civic leaders began to organize four coalitions that aimed to give ordinary citizens a chance to meet, to heal, and to be heard in rebuilding decisions. Woods tells the inside story of the civic renewal movement they founded, including their motives, their methods, the obstacles they faced, and the lessons their five-year effort offers for the future. As a participant observer, he interviewed 36 civic leaders. Adding data from public archives, this book explores whether ordinary citizens' voices were heard in Lower Manhattan rebuilding decisions after 9/11.

(CIVIC LEADERSHIP IN NEW YORK CITY)

In recent years, the simultaneous development of prominent social movements and election of left and center-left governments has radically altered the political landscape in Latin America. These social movements have ranged from the community based "piqueteros" of Argentina, that brought down three governments in the space of a month in 2001, to the indigenous movements in Ecuador and Bolivia that were instrumental in toppling five governments in the last decade. In the cases of Venezuela and Brazil, social movements helped to provide the political base from which leftist leaders like Chávez and Lula were swept into power by election. Explores the position of these social movements after progressive governments take power, whether they were co-opted or remain at arm's length as continuing opponents, how many of the movement's demands are actually met, and what happens when the government almost inevitably disappoints its supporters in such movements. Sheds new light on how these social movements continue to operate in Latin America.

(LATIN AMERICA * SOCIAL MOVEMENTS: LATIN AMERICA)