Part one - Introduction Section 1 - The comparative approach to social problems U.S. social problems in comparative perspective - D. Stanley Eitzen and Craig S. Leedham The swedish welfare state - D. Stanley Eitzen When cutting taxes is risky bussiness - Anatole Kaletsky The rule of common sense - The Economist Part two - Problems of inequality Section 2 - Poverty The state of welfare at home and abroad - Australian Financial Review What's wrong with current poverty policies? - Randy Albelda and Chris Tilly Widening welfare: means testing the better off is fair - The Gardian, London Section 3 - Income inequality A better kind of wealth tax - Leon Friedman For CEOs, a minimum wage in the millions - Holly Sklar Toward an apartheid economy? - Richard B. Freeman Sectiona 4 - Gender Europe crawls ahead - Megan Rowling Swedish sojourn - Susan Faludi Section 5 - Sexual orientation Dutch Legalize same-sex marriages; Netherlands first to grant equal status to gay pairs - Keith B. Richburg Military homophobia - Joshua S. Goldstein Same-sex spouses in Canada - E. J. Graff Section 6 - Age An alternative to early retirement - Alison Maitland We should rejoice in an ageing society, so long as we plan properly for it - Hamish McRae Part three - Institutional problems Section 7 - Families Caring for our young: child care in Europe and the United States - Dan Clawson and Naomi Gerstel Support for working families: what the United States can learn from Europe - Janet C. Gornick and Marcia K. Meyers Family-friendly Europe - Karen Christopher Section 8 - Schools A cautionary tale from New Zealand - Edward B. Fiske and Helen F. Ladd Globalazation and education: what students will need to know and be able to do in the global village - R.D. Nordgren Section 9 - Work Finland experiments with a six-hour work day: a family friendly policy? - Ellen Mutari and Deborah M. Figart Inclusion and democracy - Elaine Bernard Section 10 - Health care and delivery Health care facts - Toronto Health Coalition International health systems - Physicians for a National Health Program Part four - Problems of people, resources, and place Section 11 - Cities Suturbia stays in the neighborhood - Haya El Nasser Metropolis unbound: the sprawling american city and the search for alternatives - Robert Geddes America's rush to suburbia - Kenneth T. Jackson Section 12 - Enviroment A tale of two fisheries - John Tierny Wind power picks up as it crosses the atlantic - Ellen Hale Cleaner than cows: pollution-free electricity has arrived in Germany - David Case Part five - Individual deviance Section 13 - Crime and crime control Crime comparisions between Canada and the United States - The Daily Deaths reflect gun use in U.S. - Michael Booth Reducing crime by Harnessing International Best Practices - Irvin Waller and Brandon C. Welsh Section 14 - Drugs Bad score - The economist The netherlands: let's be realistic - Herbert P. Barnard