Leisure, social justice and democratization

Late 20th and early 21st century ravenous consumption and it’s attendant identity practices on the back of imagined productivity has confronted the ‘piper’ demanding to be paid. As attention shifts from stabilizing crises of overconsumption, themes of social justice redolent of the emergence of the welfare state are slamming back onto the table. How should the relation between productivity and re/distribution be articulated? What level of responsibility should the state take for producing wholistic wellness typical of advanced welfare state regimes? What value will ‘play’ have sufficient to be  included in re-distributive calculus? While we may be witnessing the  front end of a wholesale shift to the market as provider of all on the platform of the state’s ‘ability to borrow, tax and pay’, old questions about democratic participation are emerging in actions such as the ‘occupy’ movement as ‘citizens’ re-acquire ‘voice’ in outrage… then there’s the fear. ‘Sustainability’ as a discursive form may help or hinder re-establish balance in life domains as a social goal with the economy as servant not master. Leisure sociological scholarship has an urgent role to play in promoting it’s emancipatory message, framing counter-argumentation where necessary and developing positive policy contributions where available.