Suchergebnisse

MICHAEL WALZER'S ACCOUNT OF JUSTICE IS A PARTICULARIST ONE THAT IS OFTEN CRITICIZED BY ADVOCATES OF A UNIVERSALIST APPROACH. ONE CRITICISM, ON WHICH THIS ARTICLE FOCUSES, IS THAT WALZER'S EMPHASIS UPON THE COLLECTIVE LIBERTY OF THE COMMUNITY OVERRIDES ANY GUARANTEE OF INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS AGAINST THE COMMUNITY. THE AUTHOR ARGUES THAT WALZER'S PARTICULARIST ACCOUNT CONTAINS UNIVERSALIST IMPLICATIONS THAT TRANSCEND NEUTRALITY AS TO A GOOD SOCIETY AND LIMIT THE SCOPE OF A COMMUNITY'S COLLECTIVE OR DEMOCRATIC LIBERTY. A BROAD RANGE OF SHARED UNDERSTANDINGS, WHICH ARE NOT FIXED BUT EVOLVE AND CHANGE OVER TIME, NEED NOT, SHE INSISTS, PRECLUDE A CRITICAL STANCE BY OR ON BEHALF OF INDIVIDUALS.

AbstractA modified generalized programming procedure is presented for solving concave programming problems with equality constraints. The procedure constructs convenient linear approximations of the gradient of the dual and finds points where the approximating functions vanish. In the quadratic programming case, the procedure is finitely convergent. Global convergence is established for the non‐quadratic case. Illustrative numerical examples are included.

We consider the problem of minimizing a convex separable logarithmic function over a region defined by a convex inequality constraint or linear equality constraint, and two-sided bounds on the variables (box constraints). Such problems are interesting from both theoretical and practical point of view because they arise in some mathematical programming problems as well as in various practical problems such as problems of production planning and scheduling, allocation of resources, decision making, facility location problems, and so forth. Polynomial algorithms are proposed for solving problems of this form and their convergence is proved. Some examples and results of numerical experiments are also presented.

Gornick and Meyers offer proposals for advancing gender egalitarianism in care of children and in the labor market. This article examines the extent to which these proposals can be extended beyond the United States and other wealthy countries. I argue that the Gornick and Meyers proposals are dependent on a particular set of global and national labor market factors, and on a peculiar configuration of institutions and political forces. The article lays out some of these key contours of the global care labor market, as well as the divergent nature of public and private institutions in developing countries. I venture that the Gornick and Meyers proposals for egalitarianism are not universalizable without radical changes in the global arena.

In the last few decades, the importance of civil society has been resurrected, both as a theoretical concept linked to democracy as well as a social practice. Even though civil society implies different definitions in the course of history, in contemporary sociopolitical systems of the West, it is defined as a part of the institutional framework of the democratic constitutional state. This type of institutionalized civil society started to develop in Croatia with the abrupt structural changes that occurred in the last two and a half decades in southeast Europe after the fall of socialism - a process in which feminist civil society organizations (CSOs) played an important role. They were the main actors to introduce favorable social changes for gender equality. However, a contemporary assessment of gender equality shows that institutional change and the implementation of mechanisms for gender mainstreaming have proven to be insufficient. In addition to the lack of implementation of the policies and legal framework, the traditionalization trend in Croatia has intensified in the last few years. These negative trends can be tied to broader neoliberal tendencies that have swept across the West in the last few decades: the retreat of the welfare state and cuts in the public sector, the crises of representative democracy, economic crisis and commodification of all social domains. In this context, feminist CSOs seem to be between a rock - the regressive local context, and a hard place - the neoliberal hegemony on a global scale. Keywords: civil society, civil society organizations, state, gender equality, Croatia

In the last few decades, the importance of civil society has been resurrected, both as a theoretical concept linked to democracy as well as a social practice. Even though civil society implies different definitions in the course of history, in contemporary sociopolitical systems of the West, it is defined as a part of the institutional framework of the democratic constitutional state. This type of institutionalized civil society started to develop in Croatia with the abrupt structural changes that occurred in the last two and a half decades in southeast Europe after the fall of socialism - a process in which feminist civil society organizations (CSOs) played an important role. They were the main actors to introduce favorable social changes for gender equality. However, a contemporary assessment of gender equality shows that institutional change and the implementation of mechanisms for gender mainstreaming have proven to be insufficient. In addition to the lack of implementation of the policies and legal framework, the traditionalization trend in Croatia has intensified in the last few years. These negative trends can be tied to broader neoliberal tendencies that have swept across the West in the last few decades: the retreat of the welfare state and cuts in the public sector, the crises of representative democracy, economic crisis and commodification of all social domains. In this context, feminist CSOs seem to be between a rock - the regressive local context, and a hard place - the neoliberal hegemony on a global scale. Keywords: civil society, civil society organizations, state, gender equality, Croatia