A fragile social fabric? : fairness, trust and commitment in Canada / Raymond Breton ... [et al.].

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Breton, Raymond, Author.

Contributor:

Breton, Raymond.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Social participation--Canada.

Social participation.

Social values--Canada.

Social values.

Civil society--Canada.

Civil society.

Canada--Social conditions.

Canada.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (231 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Montreal : McGill-Queen's University Press, c2004.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The authors examine two sides of the social covenant: what Canadians expect from their society - fairness, recognition for their contribution to society, trust that others will not take advantage of them, and a sense of belonging - and what is expected from them - a sense of indebtedness to society that reflects an appreciation of how they have benefited as members of their society, a sense of obligation to help others, and a willingness to contribute to the functioning of the community and society. Based on this analysis, the authors identify a number of steps that can be taken to strengthen the Canadian social fabric.This study is especially pertinent today given the pervasive market culture that is eroding the civic culture underlying the social covenants in contemporary Western societies. It goes beyond conventional assessments that focus on economic and material dimensions of our society.

Contents:

""Contents ""; ""Preface""; ""PART ONE: ASSESSING THE STRENGTH OF THE SOCIAL FABRIC""; ""1 Introduction""; ""2 What Matters? Canadians' Observations on the Good Society""; ""3 Fairness in Canadian Society""; ""4 Recognition of Contribution to Society""; ""5 Trust in Social Relationships""; ""6 Trust in Institutional Leaders""; ""7 Belonging in Community and Society""; ""8 Indebtedness to Society""; ""9 The Obligation to Help Others""; ""10 Contributions to Community and Society""; ""11 Strength and Fragility of the Social Fabric""; ""PART TWO: IDENTIFYING LINES OF SOCIAL FRAGMENTATION""""12 The Experience of Women and Men""""13 Cultural Diversity and the Social Fabric""; ""14 Class and Social Fragmentation""; ""15 Inter-provincial Differences""; ""16 Conclusion: The Extent of Social Fragmentation""; ""17 Strengthening the Social Fabric: Some Final Remarks""; ""Appendix Methodology""; ""Notes""; ""Selected References""; ""Index""; ""

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-282-86126-3

9786612861260

0-7735-7122-1

OCLC:

1380734300