Searching for the Spirit of American Democracy: Max Weber's Analysis of a Unique Political Culture, Past, Present, and Future

ISBN-13: 9781612054452 / Angielski / Miękka / 2014 / 176 str.

Stephen Kalberg

Opis

The ongoing "crisis of American democracy" debate is the topic of this new book. By referring to Weber's long-term perspective, it provides rich new insights-and some reasons for optimism. It also offers powerful explanations for the particular contours of today's American political culture. Kalberg draws upon Weber to reconstruct political culture in ways that define America's unique spirit of democracy. Developing several Weber-inspired models, the author reveals patterns of oscillation in American history. Can these pendulum movements sustain today the symbiotic dualism that earlier invigorated American democracy? Can they do so to such an extent that the American spirit of democracy is rejuvenated? Kalberg forcefully argues that facilitating political cultures is indispensible if democracies are to endure. He then explores in his concluding chapter whether Weber's explanations and insights can be generalized beyond the American case.

Spis treści

Introduction A) The Political Culture Approach and the Spirit of American Democracy B) Toward Max Weber: The Past, Present, and Future of the American Political Culture C) The American Political Culture's Central Contours and Long-Range Pathways D) An Overview Chapter 1 The Foundations I: The Ascetic Protestant Cornerstones of the Early American Political Culture A) World-Mastery Individualism: Religious Origins B) Community Activism: Religious Origins 1) Creating the Kingdom of God 2) The Ethical Community: The Congregation Chapter 2 The Foundations II: The Protestant Sects in the American Colonies and the Early United States A) Beyond The Protestant Ethic: The Protestant Sect B) Sect and Church C) The Sect's Social-Psychological Dynamic: "Holding Your Own": Individualism, Conformity, and the Methodical-Rational Organization of Life D) The Puritan Sects: Democratic Governance, Freedom of Conscience, and the Opposition to Secular Authority Chapter 3 The "Eminent Power" of the American Political Culture to Form Groups: From Sects to Civic Associations, the Civic Sphere and Practical-Ethical Action in the Nineteenth Century A) "American Society Is Not a Sandpile" B) The Expansion of the Congregation's Values into Communities and the Formation of a Civic Sphere C) The Maintenance of Public Ideals and Civic Ethics: Practical-Ethical Action and the New Symbiotic Dualism Chapter 4 The Political Culture of the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries: The Strong Individual-Small-State Constellation A) The View of the State in Industrializing America B) Isolating American Uniqueness: The View of the State in Industrializing Germany and the Divergent Location of Practical-Ethical Action Chapter 5 The Weberian Model: The Dissolution of the American Civic Sphere in the Twentieth Century A) The Modern World: An Iron Cage? B) The Weberian Model: The Dissolution of the Civic Sphere 1) The Privatization of Work and the Expansion of Practical Rationalism 2) The Circumscription of the Civic Sphere by "Europeanization" 3) The Circumscription of the Civic Sphere by the "Power of Material Goods" Chapter 6: Complementary Models: Extending the Weberian Model A) The Generalization Model: The Civic Sphere's Longevity 1) The Role of Moral Values in the 2004 Presidential Election B) The Professional Associations Model: The Relocation and Narrowing of the Sect Legacy C) The Conflict Model: The Contested Civic Sphere Chapter 7: Conclusion: Max Weber's Analysis of the Spirit of American Democracy A) Reviewing the Argument 1) A Colonial Era Symbiotic Dualism 2) The Nineteenth Century: Civic Individualism and a New Symbiotic Dualism B) Lessons from the Unusual American Case? C) The Weberian Mode of Analysis: Studying Political Cultures Appendices I The America Journey: Observations and Ramifications II The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism: A Brief Summary Glossary, Bibliography, Index

O autorze

Stephen Kalberg