Showing results for "Todd" in Social Classes & Economic Disparity

Protests in Ferguson, Missouri, and across the United States following the death of Michael Brown revealed something far deeper than a passionate display of age-old racial frustrations; they unveiled a public chasm that has been growing for years, as America has consistently and intentionally denied significant segments of its population access to full freedom and prosperity.

In The Idea of America, Darren Walker argues that we can narrow our widening divides by rediscovering our common aspirations and common good. This prescient, timely compendium introduces us to an essential leader of and for our moment—in his own words—through his most essential reflections, essays, and speeches. Walker calls for courageous, moral leadership from us all—challenging us to step back from the extremes, to lean into nuance and complexity, and to build longer bridges.

Elite networks are informal social networks between politicians in power and top executives of politically connected firms where personal ties and long-term interactions build trust and loyalty between involved actors. Both groups draw benefits from these interactions; politicians stay in power, and corporate executives extract rents for their firms. Firms reward connected executives with higher salaries thus widening the dispersion of earnings in society. In Elite Networks, Vuk Vukovic offers a different perspective on the long-run origins of inequality.

How much of our fate is tied to the status of our parents and grandparents? How much does this influence our children? More than we wish to believe. While it has been argued that rigid class structures have eroded in favor of greater social equality, The Son Also Rises proves that movement on the social ladder has changed little over eight centuries.