It's the 19th century all over again

Two Views of Social Justice: A Catholic/Georgist Dialogue

from American Journal of Economics and Sociology by KENNETH R. LORD

Abstract

Sixteen scholars have come together in this issue to examine eight social-justice themes from the perspectives of Catholic Social Thought and the philosophy of Henry George. The themes they address are natural law, human nature, the nature of work, the nineteenth-century papal encyclical Rerum novarum, causes of war, immigration, development, and wealth, and neighborhood revitalization. While they sometimes wrangle with each other, their common aspiration is the same as their nineteenth-century predecessors: to find solutions to the human suffering caused by injustice.

WTF academic navel-gazing

This is so wrong.

Social Forces at 90

Arne L. Kalleberg

This volume of Social Forces marks the 90th anniversary since it was founded in 1922 by sociologist Howard W. Odum. He served as editor until 1954; a full list of editors is provided in the front matter of this and every issue of Social Forces. The first article to appear in the journal was by Franklin H. Giddings, on the topic of “The Measurement of Social Forces.”
During the years since its founding, Social Forces has been recognized as a top journal of social research nationally and internationally. It has always sought to highlight the best in sociological inquiry while at the same time exploring the realms shared with social psychology, anthropology, political science, history and economics.

Reflecting on the Past

To celebrate this milestone anniversary, we highlight some of the articles published in the journal during the past five decades that have been especially significant statements on important topics. When deciding which articles to emphasize, I was guided by two main considerations: first, I’ve selected articles that have been especially influential as measured by citation counts and other usage statistics. Second, the articles chosen cover a range of topics that have been well represented in Social Forces through the years.
I asked the authors of these articles to write a short piece in which they reflect on questions such as: What do you know now that you wish you had known when you first wrote the article? How have your views on the topic changed since you wrote the article? How has the article influenced subsequent research on this topic? And, what is your (brief) assessment of the current state of research on this topic? I am grateful to the authors of these articles, all of whom responded enthusiastically to my invitation to write their reflections.
The articles represent a varied mix of the types of high-quality social science research and theorizing that has been published in Social Forces over the years: theoretical statements on subjects such as social movement organizations, delinquency and trust; discussions of measurement issues involved in studying topics such as tie strength in social networks, residential segregation and religion; and empirical analyses of economic stratification, family structure and child well-being and the gender division of household labor. All of these articles [End Page 1] have held up remarkably well over time and still have much to say about the topics that they address.
Reflections on these articles are printed in this issue of Social Forces. In addition, Oxford University Press is producing a virtual online issue that will include the reflections along with links to the original articles. This virtual issue will be made freely available to everyone.

The Varieties of Capitalism

At present, every advanced industrialization economy in the world is capitalist--production and employment are primarily carried out through the private investment decisions of profit-seeking firms and individuals. Yet, the institutional organizations of these economies vary immensely, with significantly divergent consequences for macro-economic outcomes. Broadly, these institutional variations encompass employer-labor relations and the provision of benefits outside the labor market through the welfare state. From the perspective of the analysis of capitalist class interests, restrictions on their relationship with employees and institutions that cushion current or potential employees from the competitive rigor of the labor market should seem to be anathema to capitalists, and yet institutions that do precisely that have survived, despite strains, for several decades in Europe.

Does this mean there are in fact situations in which employers' have a positive interest in institutions that improve the bargaining position for workers if they also increase productivity?

Einstein on the Beach

Robert Wilson, original director of the opera

I went to the revival at BAM some years ago, and I was there for the opening, and then I went back a week later, and walked down the aisle. There was an empty seat, and I sat down, in the empty seat on the aisle, and Arthur Miller was sitting next to me. And after about 20 minutes he turned to me, and he didn't know who I was, and he said, "What do you think about this?" I said, "I don't know, what do you think? And he said, "You know, I don't get it." I said, "You know, I don't get it either."