The Gift of Generations :Japanese and American Perspectives on Aging and the Social Contract

Publication subTitle :Japanese and American Perspectives on Aging and the Social Contract

Author: Akiko Hashimoto  

Publisher: Cambridge University Press‎

Publication year: 1996

E-ISBN: 9780511887833

P-ISBN(Paperback): 9780521555203

Subject: C913.6 in the elderly;

Keyword: 文化人类学、社会人类学

Language: ENG

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The Gift of Generations

Description

Modern societies today contend with population dynamics that have never before existed. As the number of older people grows, these countries must determine how best to provide for the needs of this population. The constraints are real: fiscal and material resources are finite and must be shared in a way that is perceived as just. As such, societies confront the fundamental question of who gets what, how, and why, and ultimately must reappraise the principles determining why some people are considered more worthy of help than others. This study systematically explores the Japanese and American answers to this fundamental question. This is the only US-Japan comparative work of its kind, utilizing systematically comparable data from both countries. It also draws on interview material that presents the choices, disappointments, and satisfactions of old age in the individual's own words.

Chapter

The Public Discourse: Responsibilities of Intervention

Values, Interests, and Symbolic Equity: A Framework of Analysis

2 Two Communities, Two Societies

West Haven

Westside Odawara

Comparing Communities

3 Rights and Responsibilities in the Public Domain

Entitlement, Obligation, and Equity

ndividual, Family, and State

4 The Practice of Protection and Intervention in the Private Domain

Inside the Household

Outside the Household

Family and Network

The Recognition of Vulnerability

5 The Japanese Viewpoint

Voices from Odawara

The Protective Approach

6 The American Viewpoint

Voices from West Haven

The Contingency Approach

7 Cultural Assumptions and Values

Trajectories of Need

Conditions of Security

Intergenerational Equity

Primary Bonds of Affection

Units of Self-Sufficiency

Visions of Resource Affluence

8 The Social Regulation of Interests

Credits, Debts, and Mutual Interests

Rights, Responsibilities, and Collective Interests

The Logic of Symbolic Equity

Distribution of Symbolic Resources: Empowerment and Disempowerment

Social and Cultural Constructions of Support

9 Conclusion

Culture, Power, and the Social Contract

Reflections on Diversity and Change

Appendix: Methods of Research

Bibliography

Index

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