Social Harm and Neoliberalism - (Studies in Social Harm) by John Gregson (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

This book links criminological, political, moral, and philosophical issues to offer a deeper understanding of the problem of social harm within the neoliberal environment.

Illustrated through case studies, John Gregson shows that social harms are a problem created not only by politics or economics, states or corporations, but also by the individualism that neoliberal societies encourage. He argues that key factors that deepen the problem of social harm include the neoliberal production of ignorance and subjectivity, along with liberal modernity itself.

Review Quotes

'This is a cogent theoretical analysis of the plethora of harms faced by populations across contemporary neoliberal societies, one located within an understanding of the various forms in which ignorance hides, maintains and exacerbates such harms, and exploring the inabilities of liberal individualism to mitigate, often even recognise, these. John Gregson's book makes an original and significant contribution to our understandings of the dynamics and trajectories of social harm, with important insights as to how these might and should be resisted.' Steve Tombs, The Open University

'A rich and innovative book. I especially liked Gregson's pioneering rethinking of MacIntyre's critique of individualist notions of rationality and the implications for understandings of power and moral agency. Highly recommended.' Linsey McGoey, University of Essex

About the Author