What are the roots of 'feeling good'? As the battle of ideas at the centre left of politics escalates, it is becoming clear that social and economic justice, while necessary, are not in themselves sufficient conditions for a secure society. There is little sense of the human predicament in the middle of contemporary politics. Growing insecurity and uncertainty seem to characterize the human condition at the end of the twentieth century.

The contributors to The Politics of Attachment - all distinguished authorities from a variety of backgrounds in public, professional and academic life - share a common conviction that we all have a powerful need to belong, to be attached to people, places and projects, and that social and political processes must reflect that.

The writers draw on recent research and debate in developmental psychology and political science to provide a unique dialogue between the psychological and the social - a political grasp of ordinary human needs.