Should the advanced Western democracies, contrary to their prevailing self-image as 'planned' and 'managed', be seen as highly disorganized systems of social power and political authority? If so, what are the symptoms, consequences and possible remedies of these disorganizing tendencies?
In this newly translated work, almost all of which has until now been unavailable to English-speaking readers, Claus Offe seeks to provide answers to these questions. Moving beyond the boundaries of both Marxism and other forms of political sociology, he gives particular emphasis to the growth...