Full Description
In his landmark 1942 report on social insurance Sir William Beveridge talked about the 'five giants on the road to reconstruction' -- the giants of Want, Disease, Ignorance, Squalor, and Idleness.
Social Progress in Britain investigates how much progress Britain has made in tackling the challenges of material deprivation, ill-health, educational standards, lack of housing, and unemployment in the decades since Beveridge wrote. It also asks how progress in Britain compares with that of peer countries -- Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Sweden and the USA. Has Britain been slipping behind? What has been the impact of the increased economic inequality which Britain experienced in the 1980s -- has rising economic inequality been mirrored by increasing inequalities in other areas of life too? Have there been increasing inequalities of opportunity between social classes, men and women, and different ethnic groups? And what have been the implications for Britain's sense of social cohesion?
Contents
1: Beveridge's Five Giants and other challenges to social progress
2: Anthony F. Heath, Elizabeth Garratt and Lindsay Richards: The fight against Want: material prosperity, inequality and poverty
3: Anthony F. Heath, Ridhi Kashyap and Elisabeth Garratt: The fight against Disease: life expectancy, disease, and lifestyle
4: Lindsay Richards: The fight against Ignorance: participation, standards and non-economic outcomes
5: Elisabeth Garratt: The fight against Squalor: overcrowding, homelessness and affordability
6: Anthony F. Heath, Yaojun Li and Elisabeth Garratt: The fight against Idleness: unemployment and discouraged workers
7: Anthony F. Heath, Yaojun Li and Lindsay Richards: The challenge of inequality of opportunity: class, gender and ethnic inequalities
8: Lindsay Richards: The challenge of social corrosion: national identity, social divisions and disengagement
9: Progress in tackling Beveridge's five giants: the successes and limitations of social reform
