Respect in a World of Inequality by Richard Sennett
English | 2003 | ISBN: 0393051269, 0393325377 | 256 pages | EPUB | 0,4 MB
The powerful case for a society of mutual respect.
In Respect in a World of Inequality, distinguished sociologist Richard Sennett explores the need for respect—and the consequences of disrespect—in a highly competitive and interdependent society.
Opening with a memoir of growing up in Chicago’s infamous Cabrini Green housing project, Richard Sennett looks at three factors that undermine mutual respect: unequal ability, adult dependency, and degrading forms of compassion. In contrast to current welfare “reforms,” Sennett proposes a welfare system based on respect for those in need. He explores how self-worth can be nurtured in an unequal society (for example, through dedication to craft); how self-esteem must be balanced with feeling for others; and how mutual respect can forge bonds across the divide of inequality.
Where erasing inequality was once the goal of social radicals, Sennett seeks a more humane meritocracy: a society that, while accepting inequalities of talent, seeks to nurture the best in all its members and to connect them strongly to one another.
