Social justice and the city: the new 'liberal formulation'

Harloe, M

doi:10.1111/1468-2427.00350

Abstract

This article examines the discourse on social exclusion/inclusion, social cohesion and social capital that, while hotly
debated within academia, has been adopted uncritically by New Labour in the UK. Within the context of urban outcomes,
the author investigates how concepts such as social inequality, poverty and class have been replaced with the notions of
competitiveness, social cohesion, social exclusion and social capital. Urban problems have been redefined as stemming
from a lack of social cohesion that leads to social and economic exclusion. The author suggests that though these terms
have yet to be fully tested empirically, they have been taken up as foundations for policies on cities in the UK. Social
Exclusion now underpins the whole agenda of the Labour government. Its conservative tone echoes US support for the
ideas of civic engagement and communitarianism with their emphasis on the duties of the individual to succeed without
government support. In speeches, Tony Blair has linked social capital and social exclusion by saying it is about
"prospects, and networks and life chances." Therefore social exclusion stems from a lack of social capital (the networks)
that contributes to opportunity and "life chances." The author also contends that the discourse on social cohesion has
failed to articulate what it might look like in the real world. On the plus side, social exclusion is a more multi-dimensional
concept than poverty or deprivation.

Journal Article Type	Article
Publication Date	Dec 1, 2001
Deposit Date	Sep 19, 2007
Journal	International Journal of Urban and Regional Research
Print ISSN	0309-1317
Publisher	Wiley
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	25
Issue	4
Pages	889-897
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2427.00350
Publisher URL	http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1468-2427.00350

Social justice and the city: the new 'liberal formulation'

Harloe, M

Authors

Abstract

Citation

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