Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Pages: 360
Trim: 6¼ x 9
978-0-7425-4914-2 • Hardback • December 2005 • $134.00 • (£103.00)
978-0-7425-4915-9 • Paperback • December 2005 • $59.00 • (£45.00)
Wilson Carey McWilliams was professor of political science at Rutgers University. He was the author and editor of a number of books including /Beyond the Politics of Disappointment?: American elections, 1980-1998/ and a regular contributor to several journals of opinion.
1 Introduction
2 Macroscopic Action: On Amitai Etzioni's Contribution to Social Theory
3 The Cultural Dimensions ofThe Active Society
4 The Cybernetic Institutionalist
5 The Constitution of Activity: Etzioni's Foundation of Social Theory in Collective Action and Collective Actors
6 The Actively Drifting Society
7 Communitarianism, the Highest Stage of Progressivism:The Active Society Revisited
8 The Teamwork of Sisyphus: Post-Fordist Capitalism, Corporate Culture and Etzioni'sActive Society
9 Membership and Belonging: Etzioni's "Authenticity" and the Existential Challenges of Liberalism
10 Swing Low, Sweet Chariot: Transformation and Religious Tradition
11 The Eagle and the Worm:The Active Society from a Community Organizer's Perspective
12 Searching for Active Citizenship
13 Courting Megalogues: Judicial Power in The Active Society
14 Community Formation, Gender Issues and the Evolution of International Law: A Perspective on Amitai Etzioni's The Active Society
15 'Lighting Damp Logs': Social Movements, Liberal Democracy and the Politics of Transformation
16 From the Active Society to the Good Society: The Second Sailing of Amitai Etzioni
17 The Active Society Revisited: A Response
Credit must be given to the editor...for having assembled a talented team of sociological archaeologists...
— Edward A. Tiryakian, Duke University; American Journal of Sociology
The Active Society Revisited strikes me as a beautifully composed collection of excellent articles. It starts off with a number of articles that constructively criticize the social theoretical argument underlying The Active Society; it then presents a number of articles dealing critically with the attainability and desirability of the active society, interspersed with articles addressing the moral philosophical position of The Active Society. This is then followed by a number of articles presenting some constructive applications of Etzioni's ideas; and the book concludes with a contemplative article and Etzioni's response. It is a beautiful composition.
— Reinoud Bosch