Social policy, political economy and the social contract. Jonathan Wistow, Policy Press. 2022. £24.99 (paperback). ISBN: 978-1447352617

Remnant, Jennifer (2023) Social policy, political economy and the social contract. Jonathan Wistow, Policy Press. 2022. £24.99 (paperback). ISBN: 978-1447352617. [Review] (https://doi.org/10.1111/spol.12913)

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Abstract

Jonathan Wistow’s book, 'Social policy, political economy and the social contract', as the title suggests, covers a lot of well-walked theoretical ground. The introductory chapter presents us with a whistle stop tour of ontological and epistemological standpoints, namechecking social contract theory, Bourdieu, and Complexity Theory amongst other expected terms and theoretical framings, before offering an impressive and extensive description of the extent of economic inequality in England over the last 50 years. There is a lot to absorb in what is a short chapter, in a short book (156 pages of content). Though importantly this first chapter, and the next, provide definitions of the central themes of social contract theory and political economy. Both solid and robust concepts that have a long tradition in the social sciences. Wistow draws on the philosophical clout of Rousseau to outline the history and various iterations of social contract theory – how a society functions by the tacit permission of the population to be governed – to frame his definition of contemporary society. This latter framing is useful specifically to those interested in inequality, but without previous engagement with this particular philosophical theory.

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