The Reformation of Welfare

The New Faith of the Labour Market

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Author(s)
Boland, Tom
Griffin, Ray
Language
English
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Abstract
"Western culture has ‘faith’ in the labour market as a test of the worth of each individual. For those who are out of work, welfare is now less of a support than a means of purification and redemption. Continuously reformed by the left and right in politics, the contemporary welfare state attempts to transform the unemployed into active jobseekers, punishing non-compliance. Drawing on ideas from economic theology, this provocative book uncovers deep-rooted religious concepts and shows how they continue to influence contemporary views of work and unemployment: Jobcentres resemble purgatory where the unemployed attempt to redeem themselves, jobseeking is a form of pilgrimage in hope of salvation, and the economy appears as providence, whereby trials and tribulations test each individual. This book will be essential reading for those interested in the sociology and anthropology of modern economic life. Chapters 1 and 3 are available Open Access via OAPEN under CC-BY-NC-ND licence."
URI
https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/70065
Keywords
Economic theology; Governmentality; Irrational rationality; Jobseeking; Welfare; thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBF Social and ethical issues::JBFA Social discrimination and social justice; thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JH Sociology and anthropology::JHB Sociology::JHBL Sociology: work and labour; thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JK Social services and welfare, criminology::JKS Social welfare and social services::JKSB Welfare and benefit systems
ISBN
9781529211320, 9781529211351, 9781529211344
Publisher
Bristol University Press
Publication date and place
Bristol, 2021
Classification
Social discrimination & inequality
Sociology: work & labour
Welfare & benefit systems
Social discrimination and social justice
Sociology: work and labour
Welfare and benefit systems
Pages
218

Chapters in this book

  • Chapter 1 Introduction
    van Melik, Rianne; Sezer, Ceren (2023)
    This chapter sets the ground for the argument and aim of this edited volume on marketplaces. The book investigates marketplaces as important urban spaces not as pre-given, fixed locations with clear demarcations in space ...
  • Chapter 3 Reform
    Boland, Tom; Griffin, Ray (2021)
    "Chapter 3 available Open Access via OAPEN under CC-BY-NC-ND licence. Western culture has ‘faith’ in the labour market as a test of the worth of each individual. For those who are out of work, welfare is now less of a ...