Valentine, G. orcid.org/0000-0002-9103-9415 and Harris, C. (2014) Strivers vs skivers: Class prejudice and the demonisation of dependency in everyday life. Geoforum, 53. pp. 84-92. ISSN 0016-7185
Abstract
This paper focuses on the moral dimension of everyday lives, using original empirical material about the judgments we make about others to explore and understand the contemporary nature of class prejudice. In doing so, we pay attention to the relationship between class prejudice and other forms of stigma and discrimination by exploring the complex (re)alignment of associations between different social groups (including working class people, disabled people, asylum seekers) in processes of ‘othering’ and exclusion. The research highlights the potential shared interest of groups who are demonised for being ‘in need’ to challenge the contemporary hegemony of the individualised ethic of self-interest which is producing a process of de-socialisation in which the importance of values such as care, compassion and social responsibility risk becoming casualties with inevitable consequences for social cohesion. Rather, the paper concludes by arguing for a re-socialisation of politics that recognises the structural causes of inequalities and which values and promotes understandings across, instead of moral judgements of, difference and our social obligations towards each other.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). |
Keywords: | Prejudice; Class; Disability; Social difference; Moral geographies; Dependency |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Department of Geography (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 30 Jun 2017 11:52 |
Last Modified: | 30 Jun 2017 11:52 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2014.02.007 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.geoforum.2014.02.007 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:118089 |