Rethinking equality

Although formally equal, relations between citizens are actually characterised by many and varied forms of inequality. Rethinking Equality provides a clear, critical and very up-to-date account of the most important contemporary egalitarian theories.

Although formally equal, relations between citizens are actually characterised by many and varied forms of inequality. Rethinking Equality provides a clear, critical and very up-to-date account of the most important contemporary egalitarian theories.

Although formally equal, relations between citizens are actually characterised by many and varied forms of inequality. Do contemporary theories of equality provide an adequate response to the inequalities that afflict contemporary societies? And what is the connection between theories of equality and the contemporary politics of citizenship? Accessible and comprehensive, Rethinking equality provides a clear, critical and very up-to-date account of the most important contemporary egalitarian theories. Unusually, it also relates these theories to contemporary political practice, assessing them in relation to the impact of neoliberalism on contemporary welfare states, and the shift from ‘social’ to ‘active’ forms of citizenship. As well as representing a significant intervention within academic debates on equality and citizenship, this book represents essential reading for students of contemporary political theory.

IntroductionPart one – A critique of liberal equality1. The troubled life of social citizenship: Rawls on equality2. Equality, risk and responsibility: Dworkin on the insurance market3. Equality versus social inclusion?Part two – Alternatives: equality and citizenship4. Equality and responsibility: towards a more critical union?5. Opportunities, outcomes and democratic citizenship: Young and Phillips on equality6. Equalities: recognition, redistribution and citizenship7. Equality and citizenship in global contextConclusion