Research Project "Social Justice and Child Poverty"
The research project "Social Justice and Child Poverty" examines child poverty from a social justice perspective. In three interrelated research areas, it aims at answering three key questions: What special content does social justice have for children? What kinds of violations of social justice are inherent in child poverty? Who are the agents having the obligations to alleviate child poverty and secure social justice for those children in poverty? All three of these questions are of high social and philosophical importance and to a great extent unanswered in contemporary philosophical research. While there is a growing literature on children as well as poverty from different normative perspectives, the topic of child poverty is nearly non-existent in philosophy as one of its own right. We will therefore develop a first comprehensive and systematic philosophical examination of child poverty from a social justice perspective situated within the capability approach and based on a thorough examination not only of the philosophical but also of the relevant social scientific literature. We will explicitly recognise insights into the special status of childhood and child poverty that separates it from adult poverty and demands particular attention.
The research project produced several peer-reviewed publications and funded workshops and conferences.
The research project produced several peer-reviewed publications and funded workshops and conferences.
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The project is funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF): P26480 and carried out at the Centre for Ethics and Poverty Research, University of Salzburg.
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Recent Publications
Ethics and the Endangerment of Children's Bodies (Palgrave Macmillan 2017) by Gunter Graf & Gottfried Schweiger This book addresses the endangerment of children’s bodies in affluent societies. Bodily integrity is an important part of a child’s physical and mental well-being, but it can also be violated through various threats during childhood; not only affecting physical health but also causing mental damage and leading to distortions in the development of the self. The authors give an account of three areas, which present different serious dangers: (1) body and eating, (2) body and sexuality, and (3) body and violence. Through an in-depth examination of the available theoretical and empirical knowledge, as well as a thorough ethical analysis, the central injustices in the mentioned areas are identified and the agents with responsibilities towards children displayed. The authors conclude by providing invaluable insight into the necessity of an ethical basis for policies to safeguard children and their bodies. |
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A Philosophical Examination of Social Justice and Child Poverty (Palgrave Macmillan 2015)
by Gottfried Schweiger & Gunter Graf Child poverty is one of the biggest challenges of today, harming millions of children. In this book, child poverty is investigated from a philosophical social justice perspective, primarily in the context of modern welfare states. Based on both normative theory (particularly the capability approach) and empirical evidence, the authors identify the injustices of child poverty, showing how it negatively affects the well-being of children as well as their whole life course. But child poverty is not “given by nature”. It is avoidable and there is certainly the moral duty to alleviate it. Therefore, Graf and Schweiger develop a normative theory of responsibilities, which clarifies the moral role of different agents in the poor children’s environment – the family, the state and my others, that have so far been neglected in philosophical theories. They conclude their book by sketching how their theory can be extended to global child poverty and what it means to show equal respect and concern for every child – not matter where and in which context it was born. This book is open access under a CCBY license. |
I hope it will be clear that Schweiger and Graf’s book is full of important insights and information. It provides a comprehensive theory of child poverty with very strong implications for political practice and thereby exemplifies a very successful blend of political philosophy and social science. Moreover, it provides a fertile ground for further philosophical and social scientific debate. It is simply a must read for everyone interested in the problem of child poverty. Christian Neuhäuser, Professor of Political Philosophy, TU Dortmund
Schweiger and Graf’s book makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of child poverty and the resources within the Capability Approach (CA) to analyse the ways in which poverty disadvantages children. As they note, capability theorists have not, until relatively recently, devoted much attention to how the capability theory might be developed and extended to children. Schweiger and Graf helpfully explore how capability theory can be sensitive to the special vulnerabilities that children exhibit as well as to their status as developing agents. Colin Macleod, Professor in law and philosophy, Chair of the Department of Philosophy, University of Victoria
The injustice of child poverty motivates much of contemporary social and global justice theorising. Yet within justice theorising, very little time is spent on examining the distinctiveness of child poverty itself as an issue of justice. Given this backdrop, Schweiger and Graf’s A Philosophical Examination of Social Justice and Child Poverty breaks new ground and fills an important gap in the literature. The book provides us with a much needed platform for further discussions about the challenges of child poverty in our world today and about how justice theorising can respond. Krushil Watene, Massey University, New Zealand
Those who are engaged in the debate around child poverty and social justice will find the book recently published by Gottfried Schweiger and Gunter Graf useful and compelling. [...] This book is a recommended reading for scholars and practitioners willing to strengthen their knowledge on the main challenges that we need to take into account to tackle child poverty. Caterina Arciprete & Mario Biggeri, Development Economics, University of Florence
Schweiger and Graf’s book makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of child poverty and the resources within the Capability Approach (CA) to analyse the ways in which poverty disadvantages children. As they note, capability theorists have not, until relatively recently, devoted much attention to how the capability theory might be developed and extended to children. Schweiger and Graf helpfully explore how capability theory can be sensitive to the special vulnerabilities that children exhibit as well as to their status as developing agents. Colin Macleod, Professor in law and philosophy, Chair of the Department of Philosophy, University of Victoria
The injustice of child poverty motivates much of contemporary social and global justice theorising. Yet within justice theorising, very little time is spent on examining the distinctiveness of child poverty itself as an issue of justice. Given this backdrop, Schweiger and Graf’s A Philosophical Examination of Social Justice and Child Poverty breaks new ground and fills an important gap in the literature. The book provides us with a much needed platform for further discussions about the challenges of child poverty in our world today and about how justice theorising can respond. Krushil Watene, Massey University, New Zealand
Those who are engaged in the debate around child poverty and social justice will find the book recently published by Gottfried Schweiger and Gunter Graf useful and compelling. [...] This book is a recommended reading for scholars and practitioners willing to strengthen their knowledge on the main challenges that we need to take into account to tackle child poverty. Caterina Arciprete & Mario Biggeri, Development Economics, University of Florence
