"The Politics of Life: Welfare State, Ecology, and Bioethics" Yoshinori Hiroi Price: ¥1430 Out of print This book presents a new perspective on understanding humanity, encompassing life and living, by comprehensively examining the welfare state, social security, environmental policy, and bioethical issues, which have traditionally been discussed separately, from the perspective of social systems. It incorporates international comparisons and clinical dimensions mediated by science and care, steadily advancing the concept of a "steady-state society." ■ Contents of this book - Introduction: This book aims to clarify the framework and thought processes that will serve as the foundation for social design in the coming era, or the fundamental value choices that should be made within it, with "life" as the central concept. In the modern era, or in the design of society for the coming era, there are three problem areas that seem to be particularly essential. They are: (a) The field related to the welfare state or social security (including medical care and welfare) (b) The field related to ecology or environmental policy/environmental politics (c) The field related to bioethics or the relationship between (life) science and humans. However, these areas are discussed separately, each in isolation, partly due to the strong vertical divisions within Japanese academia. The questions of how they relate to each other, and what the overall social design for the future and the framework for value judgments within it should be (the most essential questions), have not been directly addressed until today. What we want to raise as a "question" and pursue in this book is none other than these themes. In this case, before delving into the content, if there is a concept that underlies the areas (a) to (c) above, it is the concept of (broadly defined) "life." The "life" here is not in the narrow sense (as shown in the term "life science"), but rather in the sense of "living," as the English word "Life" implies. If we understand it this way, it will be relatively easy to understand that "life/living" is a concept that cuts across the three problem areas – welfare, environment, and bioethics. #Yoshinori_Hiroi #book #society/society_and_welfare"