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Vital Minimum
Dana Simmons
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Description for Vital Minimum
hardcover. What constitutes a need? Who gets to decide what people do or do not need? The author traces the history of this concept, revealing the intersections between technologies of measurement, such as calorimeters and social surveys, and technologies of wages and welfare, such as minimum wages, poor aid, and welfare programs. Num Pages: 240 pages, 14 halftones, 4 tables. BIC Classification: 1DDF; JPQB; KCF. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 60 x 90 x 23. Weight in Grams: 499.
What constitutes a need? Who gets to decide what people do or do not need? In modern France, scientists, both amateur and professional, were engaged in defining and measuring human needs. These scientists did not trust in a providential economy to distribute the fruits of labor and uphold the social order. Rather, they believed that social organization should be actively directed according to scientific principles. They grounded their study of human needs on quantifiable foundations: agricultural and physiological experiments, demographic studies, and statistics. The result was the concept of the "vital minimum"- the living wage, a measure of physical and ... Read more
What constitutes a need? Who gets to decide what people do or do not need? In modern France, scientists, both amateur and professional, were engaged in defining and measuring human needs. These scientists did not trust in a providential economy to distribute the fruits of labor and uphold the social order. Rather, they believed that social organization should be actively directed according to scientific principles. They grounded their study of human needs on quantifiable foundations: agricultural and physiological experiments, demographic studies, and statistics. The result was the concept of the "vital minimum"- the living wage, a measure of physical and ... Read more
Product Details
Format
Hardback
Publication date
2015
Publisher
The University of Chicago Press United States
Number of pages
240
Condition
New
Number of Pages
240
Place of Publication
, United States
ISBN
9780226251561
SKU
V9780226251561
Shipping Time
Usually ships in 7 to 11 working days
Ref
99-1
About Dana Simmons
Dana Simmons is associate professor of history at the University of California, Riverside.
Reviews for Vital Minimum
"An impressive study, drawing upon a range of neglected or unknown evidence, Vital Minimum is the first book to bring the important historical themes of consumption, nutrition science, and statistics together in a single volume-themes which are particularly timely given the economic troubles of recent years. Focusing on France from 1790 to the 1970s, Simmons offers a detailed and rigorous ... Read more