Jane L. Collins
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780226446004
- eISBN:
- 9780226446288
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226446288.003.0005
- Subject:
- Sociology, Economic Sociology
In the spring of 2011, elected officials in the state of Wisconsin rescinded most collective bargaining rights for public sector workers and cut the state budget in ways that reduced public services. ...
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In the spring of 2011, elected officials in the state of Wisconsin rescinded most collective bargaining rights for public sector workers and cut the state budget in ways that reduced public services. Conservative lawmakers justified these actions by arguing that public employees "do not produce anything" and are a net drain on the public purse. State workers and their allies responded that they produce "engineers, doctors, healthy children, roads, bridges, garbage collection, and clean drinking water." Throughout 2011, as a dozen other states passed laws similar to Wisconsin's, this contest over the value of public goods was replicated in statehouses, public meetings, and coffeehouses around the nation. This chapter is based on interviews and observations with parties on both sides of the issue, and recounts Wisconsin's 2011 struggle over the question of whether, and how, public goods and services contribute to economic growth and well-being.Less
In the spring of 2011, elected officials in the state of Wisconsin rescinded most collective bargaining rights for public sector workers and cut the state budget in ways that reduced public services. Conservative lawmakers justified these actions by arguing that public employees "do not produce anything" and are a net drain on the public purse. State workers and their allies responded that they produce "engineers, doctors, healthy children, roads, bridges, garbage collection, and clean drinking water." Throughout 2011, as a dozen other states passed laws similar to Wisconsin's, this contest over the value of public goods was replicated in statehouses, public meetings, and coffeehouses around the nation. This chapter is based on interviews and observations with parties on both sides of the issue, and recounts Wisconsin's 2011 struggle over the question of whether, and how, public goods and services contribute to economic growth and well-being.
Brian D. Christens
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- February 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190605582
- eISBN:
- 9780190605605
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190605582.003.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Clinical Psychology
Several branches of social science have sought to generate greater understanding of the ways that people work together to build power and exercise greater control over issues of concern to them. This ...
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Several branches of social science have sought to generate greater understanding of the ways that people work together to build power and exercise greater control over issues of concern to them. This book examines this existing interdisciplinary work, and seeks to simultaneously integrate and advance it. This chapter describes the Wisconsin Uprising as an example of a systems change effort that did not produce its intended effects in the sociopolitical arena. The fact that many observers and leaders were surprised by the outcome illustrates the importance of careful attention to topics of community power and empowerment. The chapter then summarizes the basic arguments and explains the contents, organization, and intended uses of the book.Less
Several branches of social science have sought to generate greater understanding of the ways that people work together to build power and exercise greater control over issues of concern to them. This book examines this existing interdisciplinary work, and seeks to simultaneously integrate and advance it. This chapter describes the Wisconsin Uprising as an example of a systems change effort that did not produce its intended effects in the sociopolitical arena. The fact that many observers and leaders were surprised by the outcome illustrates the importance of careful attention to topics of community power and empowerment. The chapter then summarizes the basic arguments and explains the contents, organization, and intended uses of the book.
Jane L. Collins
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780226446004
- eISBN:
- 9780226446288
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226446288.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Economic Sociology
The Great Recession not only shook Americans’ faith in the economy but also prompted a “citizen’s critique” of our economic institutions. The Politics of Value provides a vivid account of three ...
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The Great Recession not only shook Americans’ faith in the economy but also prompted a “citizen’s critique” of our economic institutions. The Politics of Value provides a vivid account of three movements that emerged in the wake of the 2008 crisis, each raising profound questions about what matters for the health of our economy. Based on in-depth interviews and observations, The Politics of Value shows how movement activists contest prevailing wisdom about how to measure economic success--and offer their own alternatives. It tells the story of the individuals who created benefit corporations (a new corporate form that requires social responsibility), showing how the new legal form and certification procedures they create challenge the notion that share price is the best measure of business success. It describes the growth of the Slow Money movement that fosters peer-to-peer place-based investment and invents new ways of measuring the significance of dense interconnections and backward and forward linkages in local economies. It tells the story of 2011, when many state legislatures effectively ended collective bargaining rights for public sector workers, and protest movements arose to assert the economic value of public investments and services against the prevalent view that they are a drain on the economy. While providing compelling and intimate accounts of each movement in its own right, The Politics of Value also presents a new framework for thinking about economic value, one grounded in thoughtful evaluation of the social division of labor and the relationship between state, market, and civil society.Less
The Great Recession not only shook Americans’ faith in the economy but also prompted a “citizen’s critique” of our economic institutions. The Politics of Value provides a vivid account of three movements that emerged in the wake of the 2008 crisis, each raising profound questions about what matters for the health of our economy. Based on in-depth interviews and observations, The Politics of Value shows how movement activists contest prevailing wisdom about how to measure economic success--and offer their own alternatives. It tells the story of the individuals who created benefit corporations (a new corporate form that requires social responsibility), showing how the new legal form and certification procedures they create challenge the notion that share price is the best measure of business success. It describes the growth of the Slow Money movement that fosters peer-to-peer place-based investment and invents new ways of measuring the significance of dense interconnections and backward and forward linkages in local economies. It tells the story of 2011, when many state legislatures effectively ended collective bargaining rights for public sector workers, and protest movements arose to assert the economic value of public investments and services against the prevalent view that they are a drain on the economy. While providing compelling and intimate accounts of each movement in its own right, The Politics of Value also presents a new framework for thinking about economic value, one grounded in thoughtful evaluation of the social division of labor and the relationship between state, market, and civil society.
