Synopses & Reviews
Social justice activists in the United States face an increasingly difficult task: how do they fight policies based on damaging images of race, class and gender identities in an era of “colorblind” racism? Through the voices of women activists in the welfare rights movement across the United States,
The Price of Progressive Politics exposes the contemporary reality of welfare rights politics, revealing how the language of colorblind racism undermines this multiracial movement. Rose Ernst argues that although many activists are well-meaning and truly committed, they nonetheless find themselves reproducing many of the same racial and gender biases that they are trying to fight against. Through forty-nine in-depth interviews with activists in eight organizations across the United States, Ernst presents an intersectional analysis of how these activists understand the complexities of race, class and gender and how such understandings have affected their approach to their grassroots work.
The vibrant stories of these welfare rights activists from around the country reveal the volatile issues of race and class that underlie the deep complexities and contradictions of grassroots organizing, and the tensions which are often heightened by the language of color-blind racism. Engaging and accessible, The Price of Progressive Politics offers a refreshing examination of how those working for change grapple with shifting racial dynamics in the United States, arguing that organizations that fail to develop a consciousness that reflects the reality of multiple marginalized identities ultimately reproduce the societal dynamics they seek to change.
Review
“In this important and courageous book, Rose Ernst shows how the discourse of colorblindness limits the progressive possibilities of the welfare rights movement. One must know the monster one is fighting if one wishes to slay it 'for real.' Otherwise, as Ernst's data demonstrates, one ends up feeding the monster. Bravo for a job well done!”
-Eduardo Bonilla-Silva,author of Racism without Racists: Color-BlindRacism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in America
Review
“This penetrating and thoughtful work confronts the challenges, conflicts, and opportunities in the fragile coalitions that compose the welfare rights movement today. Written with fidelity to the cause and an empirical eye, Ernst demonstrates how the false construction of a 'post-racial' America warps the discourse and activities of welfare rights organizers. A passionately written text that brings these women and this movement to life, The Price of Progressive Politics analyzes the welfare rights movement from within and without using the intersectional lens of race, ethnicity, and class. This timely, fascinating, and intricate book moves forward our understanding of colorblindness and intersectionality.”
-Andrea Y. Simpson,author of The Tie That Binds: Identity and Political Attitudes in the Post-Civil Rights Generation
Review
“Ernst has provided an amazing window into contemporary welfare organizing and the challenges faced in a political context that urges unitary rather than intersectional frames of social justice. Without a doubt she has provided an important book relevant to scholars and welfare organizers alike.”
-Ange-Marie Hancock,author of The Politics of Disgust and the Public Identity of the 'Welfare Queen'
Review
“Rose Ernst's book is well-written, with a nuanced theoretical frame that grows out of the relevant literature; it provides an important empirical contribution based poignantly on the voices of the women activists themselves.”
-Sanford Schram,author of Welfare Discipline: Discourse, Governance and Globalization
Review
-D. R. Imig,Choice Magazine
Synopsis
The authoritative text on the libertarian political position
In recent years, libertarian impulses have increasingly influenced national and economic debates, from welfare reform to efforts to curtail affirmative action. Murray N. Rothbard's classic The Ethics of Liberty stands as one of the most rigorous and philosophically sophisticated expositions of the libertarian political position.
Rothbard's unique argument roots the case for freedom in the concept of natural rights and applies it to a host of practical problems. And while his conclusions are radical--that a social order that strictly adheres to the rights of private property must exclude the institutionalized violence inherent in the state--Rothbard's applications of libertarian principles prove surprisingly practical for a host of social dilemmas, solutions to which have eluded alternative traditions.
The Ethics of Liberty authoritatively established the anarcho-capitalist economic system as the most viable and the only principled option for a social order based on freedom. This classic book's radical insights are sure to inspire a new generation of readers.
Synopsis
This updated edition of a classic defense of libertarianism includes a new introduction.
Synopsis
In recent years, libertarian impulses have increasingly influenced national and economic debates, from welfare reform to efforts to curtail affirmative action. Murray N. Rothbard's classic
The Ethics of Liberty stands as one of the most rigorous and philosophically sophisticated expositions of the libertarian political position.
What distinguishes Rothbard's book is the manner in which it roots the case for freedom in the concept of natural rights and applies it to a host of practical problems. An economist by profession, Rothbard here proves himself equally at home with philosophy. And while his conclusions are radical—that a social order that strictly adheres to the rights of private property must exclude the institutionalized violence inherent in the state—his applications of libertarian principles prove surprisingly practical for a host of social dilemmas, solutions to which have eluded alternative traditions.
The Ethics of Liberty authoritatively established the anarcho-capitalist economic system as the most viable and the only principled option for a social order based on freedom. This edition is newly indexed and includes a new introduction that takes special note of the Robert Nozick-Rothbard controversies.
About the Author
The author of numerous books, the late
Murray N. Rothbard (1926-1995) was the S. J. Hall Distinguished Professor of Economics at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and Academic Vice President of the Ludwig von Mises Institute.
Hans-Hermann Hoppe is Professor of Economics at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.