America's Promise Civil Society and the Renewal of American Culture

by Eberly, Don E.

• ISBN13: 9780847692286
• ISBN10: 0847692280
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1998-10-01
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Summary

Noted scholar and activist Don Eberly details the history, achievements, and goals of the civil society movement. He demonstrates why civil society is crucial to the preservation of democratic values and institutions, and he explains why the concern over America's moral decay must be our major priority. Our society, argues Eberly, cannot thrive, and perhaps cannot survive, without strong social institutions, a vibrant moral order, and an active, intellectual grass roots dimension.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Part One The Emergence of Civil Society	3	(34)
Chapter 1 Civil Society: A New Solution	3	(16)
Chapter 2 The Movement	19	(18)
Part Two Civil Society's Component Parts	37	(114)
Chapter 3 Social Institutions, Social Regression	37	(22)
Chapter 4 Civil Society and the Welfare State	59	(16)
Chapter 5 Community Building and Civic Engagement	75	(20)
Chapter 6 Renewing the Public Realm: Public Space and Democratic Deliberation	95	(10)
Chapter 7 Cultural Cleanup: Manners and Re-Moralization	105	(20)
Chapter 8 Recovering Individual Character and Ethics	125	(8)
Chapter 9 Toward a New Public Philosophy: Common Ground and the Common Good	133	(18)
Part Three Civil Society: Its Promise and Limitations	151	(94)
Chapter 10 Civitas Limited: The Limitations of Civil Society	151	(12)
Chapter 11 The Fragility of Civil Society	163	(18)
Chapter 12 Civil Society Plus: America's Civic and Transcendent Creeds	181	(20)
Chapter 13 Toward Moral Realism and Republican Character	201	(16)
Chapter 14 A Call to Civil Society: Why Democracy Needs Moral Truths	217	(28)
Select Bibliography	245	(4)
Index	249	(6)
About the Author	255