The Active Society Revisited

(Paperback)

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The Active Society, published in 1968, is the most ambitious book in Amitai Etzioni's remarkable career. It is sociology in the grand tradition, with at least one foot outside its own time. In it, Etzioni confronts the great modern irony that setting out to become the masters of nature, humans become mastered by their own instruments championing the sense of agency and aiming to demonstrate that humanity can direct its own creations, or at least, that societies can aspire to a greater measure of authentic self-government. In this new collection of essays, Wilson Carey McWilliams brings together scholars in a range of disciplines to analyze the significance and shortcomings of this important work. They comment on the importance of Etzioni's contributions, the magnitude of his achievement, and the extent to which The Active Society speaks to contemporary social and political life.

Reviews

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

Author Bio

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.