The Essential Communitarian Reader

by Bayer, Ronald; Barber, Benjamin R.; Bell, Daniel A.; Bellah, Robert N.; Bradley, Senator Bill; Coats, Senator Dan; Conner, Roger L.; Dahrendorf, Ralf; DiIulio, John J., Jr.; Doherty, William J.; Elshtain, Jean Bethke; Etzioni, Amitai; Fishkin, James S.; G

• ISBN13: 9780847688265
• ISBN10: 0847688267
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1998-01-28
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Summary

This outstanding new book shows why communitarian thought has had such a profound influence on contemporary American public policy, from strengthening our neighborhoods to fighting AIDS and educating our children. Edited by Amitai Etzioni, founder of the Communitarian Network and author of the best-selling books The Spirit of Community and The New Golden Rule, this comprehensive collection contains essays written by the nation's most respected thinkers. See why politicians as diverse as Vice President Al Gore and Jack Kemp view communitarian social philosophy as the most practical way of restoring America's communities and redeeming its political institutions.

Table of Contents

Introduction	ix	(16)
Amitai Etzioni
The Responsive Communitarian Platform: Rights and Responsibilities	xxv
Part I: Communitarian Theory	3	(94)
1. Foundations of Communitarian Liberalism	3	(12)
Philip Selznick
2. Community Properly Understood: A Defense of "Democratic Communitarianism"	15	(6)
Robert N. Bellah
3. The Limits of Libertarianism	21	(20)
Thomas A. Spragens, Jr.
4. A Moral Reawakening Without Puritanism	41	(6)
Amitai Etzioni
5. The Dangers of Soft Despotism	47	(8)
Charles Taylor
6. Beyond Teledemocracy: "America on the Line"	55	(6)
James S. Fishkin
7. Social Justice: A Communitarian Perspective	61	(12)
Philip Selznick
8. A Precarious Balance: Economic Opportunity, Civil Society, and Political Liberty	73	(24)
Ralf Dahrendorf
Part II: Rights and Responsibilities	97	(48)
9. Rights and Responsibilities	97	(10)
Dallin H. Oaks
10. "Absolute" Rights: Property and Privacy	107	(8)
Mary Ann Glendon
11. Permissible Paternalism: In Defense of the Nanny State	115	(10)
Robert E. Goodin
12. Finding a Place for Community in the First Amendment	125	(6)
Roger L. Conner
13. AIDS Prevention vs. Cultural Sensitivity	131	(8)
Ronald Bayer
14. A Gangsta's Rights	139	(6)
Roger L. Conner
Part III: Communitarian Policy	145	(114)
15. A Liberal-Democratic Case for the Two-Parent Family	145	(12)
William Galston
16. How Therapists Threaten Marriages	157	(10)
William J. Doherty
17. Residential Community Associations: Community or Disunity?	167	(10)
Daniel A. Bell
18. When Redistribution and Economic Growth Fail	177	(6)
Senator Dan Coats
19. What Makes a Good Urban Park?	183	(4)
Peter Katz
20. The Loss of Public Space	187	(12)
Fred Siegel
21. Rebuilding Urban Communities	199	(8)
Senator Bill Bradley
22. The Libertarian Conundrum: Why the Market Does Not Safeguard Civil Rights	207	(10)
Alan Wolfe
23. Drug Abuse Control Policy: Libertarian, Authoritarian, Liberal, and Communitarian Perspectives	217	(10)
Mark Kleiman
24. Inner-City Crime: What the Federal Government Should Do	227	(10)
John J. DiIulio, Jr.
25. A Mandate For Liberty: Requiring Education-Based Community Service	237	(10)
Benjamin R. Barber
26. Social Science Finds: "Marriage Matters"	247	(12)
Linda J. Waite
Part IV: The Community of Communities	259	(44)
27. Democracy and the Politics of Difference	259	(10)
Jean Bethke Elshtain
28. Pluralism vs. Particularism in American Education	269	(14)
Diane Ravitch
29. Immigration and Political Community in the United States	283	(12)
Daniel J. Tichenor
30. Who Killed Modern Manners?	295	(8)
Judith Martin
Index	303	(18)
About the Contributors	321