Policy Press

Morality and Public Policy

By Clem Henricson

Published

Feb 24, 2016

Page count

208 pages

ISBN

978-1447323822

Dimensions

234 x 156 mm

Imprint

Policy Press

Published

Feb 24, 2016

Page count

208 pages

ISBN

978-1447323815

Dimensions

234 x 156 mm

Imprint

Policy Press

Published

Feb 24, 2016

Page count

208 pages

ISBN

978-1447323853

Dimensions

Imprint

Policy Press

Published

Feb 24, 2016

Page count

208 pages

ISBN

978-1447323860

Dimensions

Imprint

Policy Press
Morality and Public Policy

With an increasingly bitter secular religious divide, there is a messy, defective relationship between the state and morality in the UK. In response, Morality and Public Policy puts forward proposals to enhance the capacity of public policy to respond more effectively to morality and associated shifts in social mores in different cultural settings. Spanning religion, moral philosophy and scientific understanding of the human condition, this unique book draws together and adds to the latest thinking on morality, its causes, mutations, tensions and common features. It challenges misplaced concepts of ‘moral progress’ and the supremacy of empathy, and puts forward the management of the full span of human impulses - some complementary, some conflicting - as the function of morality with major implications for the interface between morality and public policy.

"Clem Henricson eschews the simplistic polarisations that so often characterise the discussion of morality in the public sphere. Her engaging book combines a subtle and balanced analysis with a convincing case that policy makers can and should do morality better." Matthew Taylor, Chief Executive, RSA

"An original analysis of the connections between moral sphere and public policy. Clem Henricson has produced a book of major significance to our understanding of how governments should do morality." Professor Kimmo Jokinen, University of Jyväskylä, Finland

Clem Henricson is a social policy analyst who has published widely on the relationship between the state and the individual within a variety of settings. With experience of working closely with government at a national and international level, she has a particular interest in developing future strategic directions and options for enhancement in the context of human rights. Her most recent book is A revolution in family policy: Where we should go from here.

Introduction: Why we need a better connection between morality and public policy;

Moral perspectives to be addressed in an inclusive public policy;

Synergies and tensions: Morality as an accommodation of human impulses in different cultural contexts;

The challenges and benefits of a new role for public policy;

Managing morality: a public policy analytical tool;

Conclusion.