Looking Backward: A Critical Appraisal of Communitarian Thought

(Hardback)

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When social reformers blame the current ills of Western culture on the loss of community, they often evoke an ideal past in which societies were characterized by shared values, respect for tradition, commitment to the common good, and similar attributes. Communitarians assert that community was prominent in the past, and argue that reclaiming the r

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"[An] intelligent and lucid study... Phillips argues that the societies of late eighteenth-century America and the high Middle Ages did not enjoy a common history and shared values, widespread political participation, or strong bonds of social solidarity... The merits of Phillips's approach are substantial. He brings together not only political theory and history but also interesting perspectives from contemporary sociology."--Adam Swift, The Times Literary Supplement "A compelling defense of liberal politics and individual rights. Phillips shows the ways in which communitarians romanticize and distort the societies of the past."--Ruth Conniff, The Progressive