Blog Archives
Ed Miliband Is Concerned About Immigrant Workers; He Should Also Worry About Large, Wealthy Families And Dwindling Resources
Rick of Flip Chart Fairy Tales has written a very thoughtful piece about Ed Miliband’s recent speech on ‘ordinary’ people’s concerns around so-called immigrant workers. Miliband and Rick are right that this needs to be discussed openly, not least to encourage responsible debate. But I have suggested in a response to Rick’s blogpost that there’s also another dimension to be factored in, viz, population in the demographic sense, and the economic / resource demands especially of large, wealthy indigenous families.
To read more of this article and to comment, please visit Hilary’s political website here.
Unmasking Age: The Significance Of Age For Social Research [Bill Bytheway]
Summary: I’d urge absolutely everyone who has a professional concern for ageing to read this book. It offers fresh perspectives on and a very significant contribution to our understanding of difficult matters. Not only researchers (whether social or, e.g., medical) but also policy makers, practitioners, clinicians, journalists and many others will find their insights into this complex issue enriched by what Bill Bytheway, a social gerontologist and policy commentator of many years’ standing, has to tell us.
To read more of this review and to comment, please visit Hilary’s professional website here.
Does Old Age Have To Mean Life On The Sidelines?
Summary: What happens to people as they get older? What should be the starting points for more consideration of this vexed question? With post-war babies currently reaching retirement and many of their parents still alive, the number of elderly people in the UK is increasing dramatically. But socio-economic infrastructure still often lags behind.
Whilst never unimportant, advanced old age was until quite recently not a widespread issue. There is now a pressing need to understand better how to accommodate and respond to this shift in the UK’s demographic.
Dreaming Realist 