International perspectives on aging policy: A review essay of three recent volumes

Only in the very broadest and most abstract sense do these three volumes reflect on similar issues in aging in social policy - that is, the changing context of the responsibilities of the family and state toward the aged. Within two of these books the prevailing wisdom is that the state in most cases will be taking on fewer responsibilities with families assuming more. In certain societies and cultures, little in the way of a role has been associated with the state historically. Care for the elderly has been the responsibility of the family and/or community, and despite changes in the economy and society, human exchanges have remained unaltered. In other societies, change has been more rapid, leaving elders without adequate support or nurturance. And, in largely industrial and Western societies, the state may be relinquishing its roles, leaving families stretching to cover the gaps. Only Schulz, Borowski, and Crown provide carefully reasoned economic arguments regarding the capacity of the state to provide continued financial security to the aged in the future. But future economic security for the elderly does not respond to the broader issues of the responsibility for caring and social support that the other authors have alluded may be eroding from those states that currently provide such services. Admittedly, the direction in all the nations discussed and in each of the volumes is to a smaller role for government and an increased role for families.Each of the three books reviewed is truly international in authorship and perspective. Sensitive to the concern that Bleddyn Davies from the University of Kent at Canterbury articulates as the dominance of an American perspective in aging and social policy (1989), the authors and editors have been global and multinational in their work. In particular,An Aging World has attracted authors from nations throughout the world with few using examples or comparisons to the United States.It has been difficult to review three works that are so different and span so much content. The depth of material, the detail, and the many issues raised inAn Aging World in itself are difficult to summarize. Nevertheless, it is the specifics and the details that make these works so interesting to read.