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The moral economy of austerity: analysing UK welfare reform
Author(s) -
Morris Lydia
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
the british journal of sociology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.826
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 1468-4446
pISSN - 0007-1315
DOI - 10.1111/1468-4446.12186
Subject(s) - morality , austerity , principle of legality , argument (complex analysis) , rationality , welfare , moral economy , welfare reform , sociology , rhetoric , political economy , politics , positive economics , political science , economics , law and economics , law , biochemistry , chemistry , linguistics , philosophy
This paper notes the contemporary emergence of ‘morality’ in both sociological argument and political rhetoric, and analyses its significance in relation to ongoing UK welfare reforms. It revisits the idea of ‘moral economy’ and identifies two strands in its contemporary application; that all economies depend on an internal moral schema, and that some external moral evaluation is desirable. UK welfare reform is analysed as an example of the former, with reference to three distinct orientations advanced in the work of Freeden ([Freeden, M., 1996]), Laclau ([Laclau, E., 2014]), and Lockwood ([Lockwood, D., 1996]). In this light, the paper then considers challenges to the reform agenda, drawn from third sector and other public sources. It outlines the forms of argument present in these challenges, based respectively on rationality, legality, and morality, which together provide a basis for evaluation of the welfare reforms and for an alternative ‘moral economy’.