Senior Rights: Social Movements Past and Present

Provide a comprehensive and enlightening analysis of the dynamics of aging-policy reform and its development over the past two centuries. Using examples of political rhetoric and media images dating from colonial days to the present, the conflict between progressive senior-rights advocates and conservative opponents of reform is traced in order to frame the debate over societal definitions of fairness and social justice in old age, emphasizing the role played by symbolic politics in these struggles. Underscores the importance of the symbolic gestures and counter gestures that have been used by both senior-rights advocates and their opponents to influence the direction of events and to sway public opinion on aging issues. The Social Movements Past And Present Series offers thorough analyses of the ideas and actions that have changed the way Americans think and live. Each volume is written by a specialist drawing on the insights and methodologies of history, sociology, and political science.