{"product_id":"down-and-out-in-utopia-unemployment-as-moral-education-in-norway-paperback","title":"Down and Out in Utopia: Unemployment as Moral Education in Norway - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eKelly McKowen\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eImagine that you have just lost your job. You wonder: \"Who or what can I depend on now?\" The answer, it turns out, varies significantly depending on where you live. In Norway, a small European social democracy, you would almost certainly turn to the country's comprehensive public welfare system. With a work history, you could be eligible for two years of unemployment benefits that replace upwards of 62% of your previous salary. Meanwhile, you would not be too worried about covering other major expenses: annual out-of-pocket healthcare costs are capped at a few hundred dollars, parents receive monthly payments per child, public education is tuition-free, and pensions are guaranteed. What would this experience teach you about government, work, taxes, and freedom?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eDown and Out in Utopia\u003c\/em\u003e, anthropologist Kelly McKowen explains what happens to those without jobs in one of the world's wealthiest and most egalitarian countries. Following the daily lives of a diverse group of unemployed individuals during the \"oil crash\" of the mid-2010s, he shows that being \"down and out\" in a social democracy offers people a unique moral education with lessons about the nature and value of the state, labor, welfare, and belonging. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eEngaging, timely, and illuminating, \u003cem\u003eDown and Out in Utopia\u003c\/em\u003e makes the case that through social policy, we shape life's hardships - and these hardships, in turn, shape us and how we view the world. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eKelly McKowen\u003c\/b\u003e is an assistant professor of anthropology at the College of William and Mary.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 208\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.5 x 8.9 x 5.8 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e August 11, 2026\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48874610163961,"sku":"9781049805344","price":48.53,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0789\/2782\/3097\/files\/Gv0GvNyk0w9781049805344.webp?v=1787326667","url":"https:\/\/bookscloud.io\/products\/down-and-out-in-utopia-unemployment-as-moral-education-in-norway-paperback","provider":"BooksCloud Book Dropshipping","version":"1.0","type":"link"}