Individualism and Inequality

The Future of Work and Politics

Ralph Fevre, Professor of Social Research, School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University, UK

相信个人自决动力the development of universal human rights and inspired social movements from anti-slavery to socialism and feminism. At the same time, every attempt to embed individualism in systems of education and employment has eventually led to increased social inequality. Across the globe individualism has been transformed from a revolutionary force into an explanation for increasingly unequal societies where dissent is largely silent. This book explores the possibility of rediscovering the original, transformative potential of individualism.

‘求婚者将这本书视为现代不平等的另一项研究是错误的。它比有关此主题的其他书籍提供了更多的见解。从广义上讲，这是两个相关趋势：通过集体认同的形式表达的人类品质和人类潜力的信念下降，以及将合理化和科学知识扩展到先前信仰所占据的领域（例如，在教育中）。Fevre将其描述为从情感个人主义转变为认知个人主义，追溯到前者的起源回到托马斯·潘恩（Thomas Paine）和亚当·史密斯（Adam Smith），后者再到赫伯特·斯宾塞（Herbert Spencer）等。但是他的分析比这还要多。随着全球化和新自由主义的叙述的兴起，Fevre展示了我们自己的自我和代理意识如何从对社会变革的愿望到期待工作场所的自我实现。他描述了雇主如何接受新自由主义理想，并越来越多地承担着员工的福利和自我发展的责任，但随后未能达到日益提高的期望。FEVRE在实证研究的基础上记录了对工人的心理和其他影响，因为新自由主义工作场所未能为他们提供自决和自我实现的承诺。关于了解机构和组织的“认知个体”为自己的辩护，代表自己的行动而不是将事情掌握在自己手中的情况下，这是关于了解机构和组织的多少。Fevre明智地鼓励我们寻找机会通过恢复对人类品质而不是在新自由主义的话语中的信念来重新赋予道德意义。’
– Alex Standish, University College London/Institute of Education, UK

‘With the publication of Individualism and Inequality, Ralph Fevre establishes himself as one of today’s most important figures in social theory and economic and cultural sociology. Building on his past work, his newest book skillfully brings together social theory, history, political philosophy, public policy and normative inquiry to tell a bold, new story about the rise of neoliberalism in the US and in the UK. Fevre produces nuanced genealogies of various forms of individualism and convincingly argues that the rise of neoliberalism is directly connected to the eclipse of sentimental individualism by cognitive individualism. In spite of the formidable social problems, including income inequality, that Fevre’s account vividly depicts, he concludes his book with a ray of hope for a social movement that could bring the revitalization of sentimental individualism.’
– Mark S. Cladis, Brooke Russell Astor Professor of the Humanities, Brown University, US

'This is a wonderful holdall of an interdisciplinary book. We could call its content history, sociology, political economy, economic geography, economics, and social policy: and it is packed full of fascinating detail.'
– Citizens Income

‘Individualism and Inequality is an interdisciplinary work that will be of interest to scholars from several fields, including political theory, education, history, psychology, and management. It brings together these areas to create an interesting narrative of the development of neoliberalism in the USA and UK. Fevre’s detailed historical and theoretical analyses are interesting and insightful.’
– Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal