Social Quality Theory

A New Perspective on Social Development

Ka Lin, Peter Herrmann, Ka Lin, Peter Herrmann

• Publisher: Berghahn Books
• Year: 2015
• Print ISBN: 9781782388975
• eBook ISBN: 9781782388982
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Social Policy
• Index: Social Sciences

Social quality thinking emerged from a critique of one-sided policies by breaking through the limitations previously set by purely economistic paradigms. By tracing its expansion and presenting different aspects of social quality theory, this volume provides an overview of a more nuanced approach,  which assesses societal progress and introduces proposals that are relevant for policy making. Crucially, important components emerge with research by scholars from Asia, particularly China, eastern Europe, and other regions beyond western Europe, the theory's place of origin. As this volume shows, this rich diversity of approaches and their cross-national comparisons reveal the increasingly important role of social quality theory for informing political debates on development and sustainability.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• List of Figures
• Introduction
• Chapter 1 Reconceptualization of Social Quality
• Chapter 2 Indicators of Social Quality: Outcomes of the European Scientific Network
• Chapter 3 Social Quality and Welfare System Sustainability
• Chapter 4 The Prototype of Social Quality Theory and Its Applicability to Asian Societies
• Chapter 5 Economic Performance, Social Progress and Social Quality
• Chapter 6 The Human and the Social: A Comparison of the Discourses of Human Development, Human Security and Social Quality
• Chapter 7 Social Quality in Britain: A Welfare State?
• Chapter 8 Social Quality in Sweden
• Chapter 9 Visions of the Sustainable Welfare Society: Extending Social Quality into an Asian/Developmental Context
• Chapter 10 Risks of Society Stability and Precarity of Employment: A Look at Russia
• Chapter 11 The Rational Actor Reform Paradigm: Delivering the Goods but Destroying Public Trust?
• Social Quality: An Invitation to Dance
• Index