Suchergebnisse

One of the few minor classics to emerge from the cold war years of McCarthyism-an essay in sociological analysis and political philosophy that considers the cold war preoccupation with espionage, sabotage, and subversion at home, and the agitation so wildly directed against the "enemy." "Brief...lucid...brilliant."-American Political Science Review. With an Introduction by Daniel P. Moynihan

Abstract. This article vindicates the phenomenon of the nation and argues that civil society could not exist without it. The nation, although related to nationalism, is by no means identical with it. Extreme forms of nationalism are generally speaking iniquitous and in many cases severely damaging to the societies in which they occur. The same stricture does not apply to the nation.

In its modern form, liberal democracy (LD) is characterized by universal education, a collective self-consciousness linked to territory, an understanding of rights & obligations, & freedom of interactions. Economics (eg, individual independence in a market economy) & territorial (eg, authority-society-land relationship) are considered modern roots of LD that develop the collective self-consciousness. Obstacles to LD are discussed: large-scale immigration without sufficient assimiliation (the current situation in the US), collective, territorial self-consciousness; antinomianism, the recent hostility to existing rules & laws by intellectuals & journalists at the center of society; & the rise of a large underclass contribute to the decay of collective, territorial self-consciousness. Consensus & compromise are important if LD is to survive. Adapted from the source document.

SINCE MONTESQUIEU, WRITERS ON POLITICS HAVE BEEN aware that there might be an association of particular moral qualities and beliefs with particular political regimes. The association between virtue and republican governments, although duly recorded by students of Montesquieu's thought, has however been passed over. The disposition to participate in politics, the sense of political potency or impotence, certain traits of personality such as could be summarized in the term 'authoritarian personality', etc., have all been studied by theorists of democracy. Virtue, or public spirit or civility, has been neglected.I would like to take up Montesquieu's theme once more. I wish to enquire into the place of virtue or what I call civility in the liberal democratic order, which Montesquieu referred to as the republican type of government. Latterly the term 'civil society' has come to be used very loosely as equivalent to 'liberal democratic society'. They are not entirely the same and the difference between them is significant. In civility lies the difference between a well-ordered and a disordered liberal democracy.

Der Beitrag beschäftigt sich mit der Frage, was eine Civil Society ist. Neben Wirtschaft und Staat wird Gesellschaft als eine dritte Kategorie eingeführt. Civil Society wird dabei als eine pluralistische Gesellschaft gesehen, in der die Autonomie ihrer einzelnen Mitglieder, Gruppen und Gemeinschaften dadurch charakterisiert ist, daß sie Verpflichtungen anerkennt, die von den Individuen und Gruppen gegenüber der Gesellschaft als Ganzem und ihren besonderen zentralen Organen und Gesetzen eingegangen werden. Was dies im einzelnen bedeutet, welche Implikationen die einzelnen Aspekte haben, wird am Beispiel der liberalen Demokratie herausgearbeitet und diskutiert. Die Analyse kommt zu dem Ergebnis, daß es Zivilität als bürgerliche Verhaltensnorm und die bürgerlichen Tugenden nur in einer Civil Society geben kann. Ausgehend von den spezifischen Merkmalen der Civil Society seit dem 19. Jahrhundert wird die Entwicklung der Rolle des Staatsbürgers nachgezeichnet, der ein vollberechtigtes Mitglied der politischen Gesellschaft und für die Gesellschaft als Ganzes mitverantwortlich ist. (ICA)

The place of virtue in liberal democracies or civil society is examined. Civil society is defined as a relationship of autonomous institutions, & the existence of a relatioship between itself, the state, & widespread use of refined or civil manners. The revival of the concept is traced from Adam Ferguson through Adam Smith, G. W. F. Hegel, & Karl Marx. The relationships between Marxism/Leninism & civil society, & civil market societies & civil societies are examined. Within liberal democratic society, civility as an attitude of attachment to society & an individual self-consciousness superseded by collective self-consciousness is examined within the context of good manners, political action, the state, & the civil politician. It is suggested that the central parts of society require a greater extent of civiility than the peripheries. L. Baker

WHEN THE ARGUMENT FOR THE UTILIZATION OF THE RESULTS of scientific knowledge for the improvement of human life was first laid out, it was thought that the state would be a major promoter or patron of such research by encouragement, financial assistance and institutional aid. It was not anticipated that the state needed the advancement of scientific knowledge for the enhancement of its own powers, apart from that enhancement which resulted from the increased wealth furthered by scientific knowledge and its enhanced military power. At the end of nearly four centuries of development of opinion on this subject, government has come to be not only the major patron but also one of the major users of scientific knowledge for its own activities.

A historical review reveals that the convergence of science & government led to a perception of omnipotent governments. Here, it is suggested that epistemological underpinnings about the validity of scientific truth & problems with government legitimacy are eroding assumptions about government power. The capability of the social sciences to assist governments in improving social conditions is examined in the context of specific social problems such as improved race relations. It is concluded that limits on knowledge & a gap between theory & practice will always hinder governments in implementing their policies. L. Baker