Richard Sennett thinks differently. In this dazzling blend of personal memoir and reflective scholarship, he addresses need and social responsibility across the gulf of inequality. In the uncertain world of "flexible" social relationships, all are troubled by issues of respect whether it is an employee stuck with insensitive management, a social worker trying to aid a resentful client, or a virtuoso artist and an accompanist aiming for a perfect duet Opening with a memoir of growing up in Chicagos infamous Cabrini Green housing project, Richard Sennett looks at three factors that undermine mutual respect unequal ability, adult dependency, and degrading forms of compassion. In contrast to current welfare "reforms," Sennett proposes a welfare system based on respect for those in need. He explores how selfworth can be nurtured in an unequal society (for example, through dedication to craft) how selfesteem must be balanced with feeling for others and how mutual respect can forge bonds across the divide of inequality Where erasing inequality was once the goal of social radicals, Sennett seeks a more humane meritocracy a society that, while accepting inequalities of talent, seeks to nurture the best in all its members and to connect them strongly to one another.

Binding: Paperback;306 pages; Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.; Classification: JFF; Weight: 370 g; Dimensions: 210 x 139 x 20

Something not quite right? You have 21 days from the day you receive it, to send something back. When you purchase Debenhams Deliver+, you will have an extra 14 days on top of our standard 21-day window to initate a return.

Please note, we cannot offer refunds on fashion face masks, cosmetics, pierced jewellery, adult toys, and swimwear or lingerie if the hygiene seal is not in place or has been broken.

Items of footwear and/or clothing must be unworn and unwashed with the original labels attached. Also, footwear must be tried on indoors. Items of homeware including bedlinen, mattresses, and toppers, and pillows must be unused and in their original unopened packaging. This does not affect your statutory rights.

Click here to view our full Returns Policy.