Recent debates about inequality have focused almost exclusively on the
distribution of wealth and disparities in income, but little notice
has been paid to the distribution of free time. Free time is commonly
assumed to be a matter of personal preference, a good that one chooses
to have more or less of. Even if there is unequal access to free time,
the cause and solution are presumed to lie with the resources of
income and wealth. In Free Time, Julie Rose argues that these views
are fundamentally mistaken. First, Rose contends that free time is a
resource, like money, that one needs in order to pursue chosen ends.
Further, realizing a just distribution of income and wealth is not
sufficient to ensure a fair distribution of free time. Because of
this, anyone concerned with distributive justice must attend to the
distribution of free time. On the basis of widely held liberal
principles, Rose explains why citizens are entitled to free
time—time not committed to meeting life's necessities and instead
available for chosen pursuits. The novel argument that the just
society must guarantee all citizens their fair share of free time
provides principled grounds to address critical policy choices,
including work hours regulations, Sunday closing laws, public support
for caregiving, and the pursuit of economic growth. Delving into an
original topic that touches everyone, Free Time demonstrates why all
citizens have, in the words of early labor reformers, a right to
"hours for what we will."
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Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9781400883684
Publisert
2016
Utgiver
Princeton University Press
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter