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

by Eberly, Don E.

• ISBN13: 9780847692293
• ISBN10: 0847692299
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1998-11-01
• 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
Civil Society: A New Solution	p. 3
The Movement	p. 19
Social Institutions, Social Regression	p. 37
Civil Society and the Welfare State	p. 59
Community Building and Civic Engagement	p. 75
Renewing the Public Realm: Public Space and Democratic Deliberation	p. 95
Cultural Cleanup: Manners and Re-Moralization	p. 105
Recovering Individual Character and Ethics	p. 125
Toward a New Public Philosophy: Common Ground and the Common Good	p. 133
Civitas Limited: The Limitations of Civil Society	p. 151
The Fragility of Civil Society	p. 163
Civil Society Plus: America's Civic and Transcendent Creeds	p. 181
Toward Moral Realism and Republican Character	p. 201
A Call to Civil Society: Why Democracy Needs Moral Truths	p. 217
Select Bibliography	p. 245
Index	p. 249
About the Author	p. 255
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