The Politics of Wellbeing: Theory, Policy and Practice (Wellbeing in Politics and Policy)

This volume is the first collection in the field of wellbeing studies that places politics centre stage. Through a combination of intellectual inquiry, empirically-grounded research, and investigation across different settings, this book aims to provide fresh insights and develop new lenses through which to understand the rise and significance of the wellbeing agenda. Divided into three parts, it considers how to define wellbeing for public policy; the prospects for wellbeing as a force for political change; and the link between policy agendas and the everyday lives of people. The book explores the key political issues of power, democracy, and the legitimacy of wellbeing evidence in a range of settings - international, national and subnational/substate. The volume will appeal to wellbeing and politics scholars, as well as students and general readers with an interest in these new political agendas.-- Provided by publisher Front Matter ....Pages i-ix Wellbeing in Politics and Policy (Ian Bache, Karen Scott)....Pages 1-22 Front Matter ....Pages 23-23 The End of History and the Invention of Happiness (Jules Evans)....Pages 25-47 Well-Being and Social Justice: In Defence of the Capabilities Approach (Annie Austin)....Pages 49-70 The Proper Role for Wellbeing in Public Policy: Towards a Pluralist, Pragmatic, Theory-Neutral Approach (Tim E. Taylor)....Pages 71-93 Front Matter ....Pages 95-95 Is Wellbeing a Useful Concept for Progressives? (Charles Seaford)....Pages 97-120 Between Policies and Life: The Political Process of Buen Vivir in Ecuador (Daniela Bressa Florentin)....Pages 121-142 Challenging the Dominant Economic Narrative Through Alternative Wellbeing Indicators: The Canadian Experience (Anders Hayden, Jeffrey Wilson)....Pages 143-167 Societal Wellbeing: Catalyst for Systems and Social Change in Northern Ireland? (Peter Doran, Susan Hodgett)....Pages 169-194 Front Matter ....Pages 195-195 Reconciling Universal Frameworks and Local Realities in Understanding and Measuring Wellbeing (J. Allister McGregor)....Pages 197-224 ‘Therapeutic Entrepreneurialism’ and the Undermining of Expertise and Evidence in the Education Politics of Wellbeing (Kathyrn Ecclestone)....Pages 225-252 Skivers, Strivers and Thrivers: The Shift from Welfare to Wellbeing in New Zealand and the United Kingdom (Karen Scott, Annick Masselot)....Pages 253-277 The Politics of the Official Statistic: The UK ‘Measuring National Well-Being’ Programme (Matt Jenkins)....Pages 279-299 Back Matter ....Pages 301-310