c&pg lecture 5 harm slides

Week Overview

• Topic: Harm and other Public Bads

• Presenter: Kevin Farnsworth

Recap from Last Week

• Discussion Points:

  • Differentiation between needs (fundamental for survival) and wants (preferences).

  • Gough’s argument prioritizing needs over wants for all.

  • Competing interests in capitalism between capital and labor.

  • Public policies' role in reconciling competing interest.

• Today's Focus: Harm and other public bads.

Harm as a ‘Public Bad’

• Types of Harm:

  • Physical: Premature death, serious injury, lack of food, harmful work conditions.

  • Economic: Poverty, fraud, mis-selling financial products, regressive taxation.

  • Emotional/Psychological: Result of unmet human needs.

• Core Points from Hillyard et al (2007):

  • Harm arises from unmet human needs including:

    • Physical health

    • Autonomy and agency

    • Critical autonomy

  • Essential needs: Nutrition, housing, safe work environments, economic security, etc.

  • Public goods can be defined as those satisfying basic human needs.

Risks, Systemic Risks, and Environmental Harm

• Systemic Risks: Challenges affecting extensive regions or systems negatively impacting the environment.

Economic Growth and Crime Trends (2003-2021)

• Data Monitoring: Reported crimes and relationship to social/economic factors.

  • Need to analyze trends over the years.

Crime Victimization Statistics (England and Wales)

• Survey Insights (CSEW):

  • % of people/households affected by various types of crimes as of June 2023.

Crime Victimization by Ethnicity Over Time

• Victims by Ethnicity: Trends from 2013/14 to 2019/20 highlighting disparities among ethnic groups.

Corporate Malfeasance (Tombs and Whyte, 2015)

• Big Business Issues:

  • Consequences of neoliberal policies: Out-of-control private corporations.

  • Growing incidence of corporate fraud and harm:

    • Price-fixing allegations

    • Scandals involving leading corporations like Tesco and government investigations.

• Examples of Corporate Crime:

  • Phone tapping by national newspapers.

  • Mis-selling and scandal in the banking sector.

The Environment and Systemic Risks

• Climate Change Overview:

  • Economic processes exacerbate environmental harm.

  • Public goods at risk, e.g., the atmosphere.

  • Need for government intervention and broader measures beyond market solutions.

Capitalism and Systemic Failure

• George Monbiot’s Views (2021):

  • Capitalism as the enabler of wealth transfer and societal issues.

  • Critique of the grand narrative of capitalism and inequality.

Social Disintegration and Anomie

• Anomie as a Social Failure:

  • Breakdown of community bonds and shared values leads to increased crime and harm.

  • Quotes Durkheim on morality and social bonds.

Alienation in Work

• Marx’s Perspective on Alienation:

  • Workers do not fulfill themselves in work, leading to feelings of misery.

  • Work considered forced rather than voluntary.

Systemic Risk Dynamics

• Wolfgang Streeck’s Analysis:

  • Capitalism undermines democratic processes, causing systemic risks.

  • Emphasis on the growing dominance of capital over taxation and regulation.

The Role of Big Business in Harm

• Critique of Corporations:

  • Profit motives are harmful to social welfare (Hillyard et al and Tombs).

The Inequality Conundrum

• Christine Lagarde (2015):

  • Commentary on hedge fund manager earnings vs. societal wealth challenges.

  • Inequality seen as a barrier to economic growth.

Trends in Economic Inequality

• Current Inequality Statistics:

  • Billionaires vs. global population wealth distribution.

  • Disparities in wealth magnified by historical and social contexts.

Overall Wealth Distribution in the UK

• Wealth Inequality Data:

  • Historical trends of wealth ownership among top percentiles (e.g., 10% vs. bottom 60%).

Homeownership and Inequality Trends for Youth

• Declining Homeownership Rates: 1996-2017 for young people aged 25-34.

Gender Wage Gap Trends

• Analysis of Wage Gap Impact by Parenthood:

  • Impact of birth of the first child on gender wage gap.

Life Expectancy and Inequality

• Life Expectancy Disparities by Wealth Decile:

  • Measurement of life expectancy based on deprivation levels.

Gini Coefficient and Income Distribution

• Gini Coefficient:

  • Comparison of net household incomes across selected countries.

Income Share Distribution in the UK

• Disposal Income by Quintile: Analysis of income share across different income groups.

Correlation Between Health, Social Problems, and Inequality

• Health Issues Associated with Inequality: Infant mortality rates correlated with income inequality.

Life Satisfaction and Income Inequality

• Links to Income Inequality: Data indicating life satisfaction impact related to income distribution.

Conclusions/Questions

• Can capitalism reconcile with the public good?

• Is capitalism inherently problematic, or is it the system of neoliberalism?

• What reforms should focus on: Economy, welfare, or more broadly defined public good?