When Americans conceptualize freedom, they often disproportionately focus on negative freedom, or freedom from government constraint-being told what they cannot say, which religion they cannot practice, where they cannot move, etc. By this measure, Americans are remarkably free. However, such a conceptualization of freedom is incomplete without including notions of positive freedom--possession of agency, to be able to think and act autonomously in pursuit of one's desired life. Positive freedom unlocks agency through more than the absence of something, but the presence of something else--the conditions which enable people's development of their abilities and access to crucial resources and opportunities. If we measure the freedom of Americans by positive freedom measures, we are falling behind our perceived status. In On Inequality and Freedom, a diverse group of authors discuss how a variety of contemporary American inequalities-from racial, economic, and gender, to health, environmental, and political inequalities-actually limit American freedom, regardless of how much negative freedom we possess. This book provides readers with a deeper understanding of what true freedom is and concrete steps toward restoring it.

Table of Contents:
Introduction 1. Introduction: Expanding the Meaning of Freedom Lawrence M. Eppard and Henry A. Giroux 2. Freedom has been Weaponized Raoul Martinez 3. Structural Violence and Structural Awareness Bandy Lee PART I: COVID-19, Inequality, and Freedom 4. Normalizing Inequality in the Age of COVID-19 Henry Giroux 5. A Tale of Two Pandemics: Freedom and Environmental Justice in a Time of COVID 19 Michael Mascarenhas 6. We Can See Clearly Now: Inequality and the Covid-19 Pandemic Michael Yates PART II: Poverty, Economic Inequality, and Freedom 7. Inequality, Violence, and Freedom Martin Daly and D.B. Krupp 8. A Structural Vulnerability Understanding of American Poverty Mark Rank 9. Child Poverty: Europe versus the U.S. Jonathan Bradshaw 10. Poverty and Freedom David Brady 11. Poverty, Politics, and Perspective: A View of Political Failure from Appalachia Jim White 12. Identity, Meritocracy, and the Unique Challenges of Human Freedom Peter Callero PART III: Race, Gender, Sexualities, and Freedom 13. White Privileges and Black Burdens Joe Feagin and Kimberley Ducey 14. The Paradox, Contradictions, Interdependencies, and Stark Realities of Inequality and Freedom Nancy DiTomaso 15. Inequalities in the Criminal Justice System at the Intersection of Race and Ethnicity Carlos E. Rojas-Gaona and Arelys Madero-Hernandez 16. Let Me Fight Your Battle Hilarie Burton Morgan 17. Women in the Man-Made City Carla Corroto 18. Grinding the Gears of Ideology: Interpellation and Gender in Us Weekly and The Bell Jar Luke Ferretter 19. The Question of Queer and Trans Positive Freedom in the U.S. Ecem E. Ece, Robert Baez, and K. L. Broad 20. Truth and Freedom: The Debate over Unauthorized Immigrants and Crime Alex Nowrasteh, Andrew C. Forrester, and Michelangelo Landgrave PART IV: Freedom in Other Domains 21. Grievance Media: How Two Sets of 'News' Hampers Democracy Alison Dagnes 22. Social Media and the Collapse of American Public Life Yevgeny Simkin 23. Disability, Ableism and the Production of Inequality Allison Carey 24. The Obsolescence of Freedom? Inequality, Symbolic Violence and the Ongoing Dilemma of American Education Dan Schubert and Elizabeth C. Lewis 25. Constituting, Empowering, and Stratifying Individuals: Education as an Institution in Modern World Culture David Monaghan 26. Environmental Justice: The Struggle Continues Robert Cavazos PART V: Parting Thoughts 27. Social Welfare, Democratic Citizenship, and Freedom Deondra Rose 28. On Government, Agency, and the Violence of Inaction Lawrence Eppard with Noam Chomsky