During the years between the publication of the first of his two major works, The Structure of Social Action (1937), and the writing of his second, The Social System (1951), Talcott Parsons was primarily engaged in political activity through the Office of Strategic Services in its efforts to bring about the defeat of the Third Reich and to set the stage for a democratic reconstruction of postwar Germany. Beyond Parsons' analytic skills the essays reveal a dedicated liberal scholar, far removed from the stereotypes with which he came to be pilloried by later critics. The...
During the years between the publication of the first of his two major works, The Structure of Social Action (1937), and the writing of his sec...
Analysis and debate about economic and political justice rarely involves research on the views of the common person. Scholars often make assumptions about what common people think is fair, but for the most part they confine their thinking to a single country and argue on rational or moral grounds, with little supporting empirical data. Social Justice and Political Change, involves the collaboration of thirty social scientists in twelve countries, and represents broad-ranging comparative research. The book grows out of a collaborative study of public opinion about social justice. Though...
Analysis and debate about economic and political justice rarely involves research on the views of the common person. Scholars often make assumption...
North America is steering a new course, with the United States, Canada, and Mexico moving toward continental economic, integration. This book examines basic value changes that are' transforming economic, social, and political life in these three countries, demonstrating that they are gradually adopting an increasingly compatible cultural perspective. A narrow nationalism, dominant since the 19th century, has slowly been giving way to a more cosmopolitan sense of identity. As old economic boundaries become outmoded, a North American perspective makes greater sense. To what extent, then, do...
North America is steering a new course, with the United States, Canada, and Mexico moving toward continental economic, integration. This book exami...
Political corruption has traditionally been presented as a phenomenon characteristic of developing countries, authoritarian regimes, or societies in which the value system favored tacit patrimony and clientelism. Recently, however, the thesis of an inverse correlation between corruption and economic and political development (and therefore democratic -maturity-) has been frequently and convincingly challenged. Countries with a long democratic tradition, such as the United States, Belgium, Britain, and Italy, have all experienced a combination of headline-grabbing scandals and...
Political corruption has traditionally been presented as a phenomenon characteristic of developing countries, authoritarian regimes, or societies ...
What is -too fat?- -Too thin-? Interpretations of body weight vary widely across and within cultures. Meeting weight expectations is a major concern for many people because failing to do so may incur dire social consequences, such as difficulty in finding a romantic partner or even in locating adequate employment. Without these social and cultural pressures, body weight would be only a health issue. While socially constructed standards of body weight may seem immutable, they are continuously re-created through social interactions that perpetuate or transform expectations about fatness and...
What is -too fat?- -Too thin-? Interpretations of body weight vary widely across and within cultures. Meeting weight expectations is a major concern f...
Many people consider their weight to be a personal problem; when, then, does body weight become a social problem? Until recently, the major public concern was whether enough food was consistently available. As food systems began to provide ample and stable amounts of food, questions about food availability were replaced with concerns about -ideal- weights and appearance. These interests were aggregated into public concerns about defining people as -too fat- and -too thin.- Social constructionist perspectives can contribute to the understanding of weight problems because they focus...
Many people consider their weight to be a personal problem; when, then, does body weight become a social problem? Until recently, the major public con...
Tobacco control leaders were extremely proud of the movement's achievements in the state of Minnesota. In sharing their perspectives and experiences with Mark Wolfson, they found a way of making sure that the story would get told. His training in social movements had given him an appreciation of the importance of understanding the social infrastructure on which movements are built, and Minnesota had built heavily on the infrastructure of health care and public health. What became apparent is that the struggle against the tobacco industry in Minnesota involved a close, collaborative...
Tobacco control leaders were extremely proud of the movement's achievements in the state of Minnesota. In sharing their perspectives and experience...
Drawing upon both classical insights and more recent writings, Hearn provides a compelling account of social breakdown in the United States. The book examines the conditions most responsible for the deterioration of social institutions, notably the family, and of communitarian interdependencies, such as those that support neighborhoods. More specifically, Hearn analyzes the defining forces of liberal modernity--among them, especially, the market economy (favored by the political right) and the democratic welfare state (endorsed by the political left)--whose steady expansion has diminished the...
Drawing upon both classical insights and more recent writings, Hearn provides a compelling account of social breakdown in the United States. The book ...
