Understanding Human Need 2nd New edition

This textbook discusses social policy meant to meet human needs, covering concepts, understandings, implications, and debates. It addresses the concept of humanity and the characteristics of the human species, the difference between "thin" and "thick" needs and needing, the differences between top-down and bottom-up approaches to need, and how dominant approaches manifest in different kinds of social policy intervention. The second part of the book addresses debates about the disadvantages that occur when human needs go unmet and the concept of social disadvantage in terms of poverty and inequality, exclusion and misrecognition, and dehumanization; how needs-based approaches can be translated through rights-based approaches; and the politics of human need and the importance of a humanist needs-first ethic. Revised and updated, this edition addresses the shifting nature of welfare ideologies and regimes. It has been restructured to emphasize the essential nature of human need. Distributed in the US by University of Chicago Press. Annotation ©2020 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)
This second edition textbook is one of the few resources available to provide an overview of human need, as a key concept in the social sciences. Taking an approach encompassing both global North and South, this accessible book models existing practical and theoretical approaches to human need while also proposing a radical alternative.
This second edition of a widely respected textbook is one of the few resources available to provide an overview of human need, as a key concept in the social sciences. Taking an approach encompassing both global North and South, this accessible and engaging book models existing practical and theoretical approaches to human need while also proposing a radical alternative. Incorporating crucial current debates and illustrations, the author explores: • distinctions between different types and levels of need; • how different approaches are reflected in different sorts of policy goals; • debates about the relationship between needs, rights and welfare; • contested thinking about needs in relation to caring, disadvantage and humanity. Fully revised and updated, this new edition pays due regard to the shifting nature of welfare ideologies and welfare regimes. Offering essential insights for students of social policy, it will also be of interest to other social science disciplines, policy makers and political activists.