Policy Press
FIVE COVID-19 and the fractured society
-
Graham Scambler
Abstract
In Chapter Five the diagnosis of the fractured society provides an expedient starting point for discussing the British government’s response to the COVID pandemic. A critique of government policy focuses on issues of delay, strategy, efficiency and effectiveness, and trust. It is argued that corruption was rife and that the visitation of COVID comprehensively exposed the wounds and fractures of UK society in the 21st century. In this sense it can be seen as a natural ‘breaching experiment’.
Abstract
In Chapter Five the diagnosis of the fractured society provides an expedient starting point for discussing the British government’s response to the COVID pandemic. A critique of government policy focuses on issues of delay, strategy, efficiency and effectiveness, and trust. It is argued that corruption was rife and that the visitation of COVID comprehensively exposed the wounds and fractures of UK society in the 21st century. In this sense it can be seen as a natural ‘breaching experiment’.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- List of boxes vi
- About the author vii
- Introduction 1
- The healthy society 9
- Social conditions and health inequalities 24
- Markets, profits and health care 44
- The structure/culture axis 59
- COVID-19 and the fractured society 76
- The challenge of global inequality in the Anthropocene 96
- Planet Earth 107
- War 120
- Why theory matters 132
- A theoretical framework for achieving the healthy society 154
- Policy, practice and obstacles 181
- The future: whither sociology? 204
- References 215
- Index 228
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- List of boxes vi
- About the author vii
- Introduction 1
- The healthy society 9
- Social conditions and health inequalities 24
- Markets, profits and health care 44
- The structure/culture axis 59
- COVID-19 and the fractured society 76
- The challenge of global inequality in the Anthropocene 96
- Planet Earth 107
- War 120
- Why theory matters 132
- A theoretical framework for achieving the healthy society 154
- Policy, practice and obstacles 181
- The future: whither sociology? 204
- References 215
- Index 228
