Contemporary social evils

This book brings together the findings of a consultation initiated by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation among leading thinkers, activists and commentators, as well as the wider public. Individual contributors range across the political spectrum but the book also reports the results from a web survey and consultation with groups whose voices are less often heard. The results suggest that while some evils - like poverty - endure as undisputed causes of social harm, more recent sources of social misery, such as an alleged rise in selfish consumerism and a perceived decline in personal responsibility and family commitment, attract controversy.