Social Aspects of the Prolongation of Life (Social Science Frontiers)

A volume of the Russell Sage Foundation's Social Science Frontiers , occasional publications reviewing new fields for social science development. This paper explores the links between the social and biomedical sciences concerning the prolongation and termination of life, with the aim to stimulate scholars, foundations, and government agencies to further study death and dying in American society. Many believe that the War on Poverty, launched by President Johnson in 1964, ended in failure. In 2010, the official poverty rate was 15 percent, almost as high as when the War on Poverty was declared. Historical and contemporary accounts often portray the War on Poverty as a costly experiment that created doubts about the ability of public policies to address complex social problems. This book, drawing from fifty years of empirical evidence, documents that this popular view is too negative. The volume offers a balanced assessment of the War on Poverty that highlights some remarkable policy successes and promises to shift the national conversation on poverty in America. Featuring contributions from leading poverty researchers, this book demonstrates that poverty and racial discrimination would likely have been much greater in the twenty-first century if the War on Poverty had not been launched. -- Publisher's description Cover Title Page, Copyright Page Foreword Contents The Social Issues 1. Review of Research on Terminal Care 1. Decisions Concerning the Allocation of Medical Resources 2. Legal and Ethical Aspects of the Allocation of Medical Resources 3. Economic Aspects of the Allocation of Medical Resources 4. Communication with Dying Persons 5. The Family and the Dying Person 6. Epidemiology of "Staying Alive" References