Description
Book SynopsisThis critique focuses on the rulings of the Warren Court during the late 1960's (an era of civil rights advances) with reference to the "institutionalization" of welfare in the USA. The text also explores legal/political thought on welfare from as early as the 17th century.
Trade Review“Bussiere’s analysis is subtle, compelling, and timely. It will make a significant contribution to ongoing debates about law, judicial politics, and social welfare policy in the United States.”
—Michael McCann,University of Washington
“Why . . . did the [Warren] Court refuse to make minimal subsistence a fundamental right or poverty a suspect class? Bussiere argues that the explanation lies not only in the constellation of external forces pressuring the Court but also in the Court’s institutional limits. . . . Bussiere’s study reveals the rich possibilities of the new institutionalism. . . . Careful historical studies, such as Bussiere’s, suggest that welfare policies are not determined by the economic and ideological pressures of capitalism alone. They are also the product of contingent factors such as litigation, political opportunism, social movements, and the evolution of complex patterns of institutionalization.”
—Frank Munger Law and Society Review
“A real analytic tour de force. It seamlessly weaves together a sophisticated understanding of American history, a subtle exposition of complex Supreme Court doctrines, and a hard-headed treatment of the realities of American politics.”
—Jennifer Hochschild,Harvard University
