Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Studying social problems in the twenty-first century -- Wealth and poverty : U.S. and global economic inequalities -- Racial and ethnic inequality -- Gender inequality -- Inequality based on age -- Inequality based on sexual orientation -- Prostitution, pornography, and the sex industry -- Alcohol and other drugs -- Crime and criminal justice -- Health care : problems of physical and mental illness -- The changing family -- Problems in education -- Problems in politics and the global economy -- Problems in politics and the global economy -- Problems in the media -- Population, global inequality, and the environmental crisis -- Global social problems : war and terrorism -- Can social problems be solved?.