Debates about labour markets and the identity of those who, in an economic sense, circulate within them, together with the controversies such issues generate, have in the past been confined by development studies to the Third World. Now these same concerns have shifted, as the study of development has turned its attention to how these same phenomena affect metropolitan capitalist nations. Debates about labour markets and the identity of those who, in an economic sense, circulate within them, together with the controversies such issues generate, have in the past been confined by development...

Marxist Theory of Class for a Skeptical World is a critique of some of the influential radical theories of class, and presents an alternative approach to it. This book critically discusses Analytical Marxist and Post-structuralist Marxist theories of class, and offers an alternative approach that is rooted in the ideas of Marx and Engels as well as Lenin and Trotsky. It presents a materialist-dialectical foundation for class theory, and conceptualizes class at the trans-historical level and at the level of capitalism. It shows that capitalism is an objectively-existing articulation of...

In Economic Nationalism and Globalization: Lessons from Latin America and Central Europe Henryk Szlajfer offers, against the background of developments in Latin America (mainly Brazil) and Central Europe (mainly Poland) in times of first globalization from late 19th century until late 1930s, a reinterpretation of economic nationalism both as an analytical category and historical experience. Also, critically explored are attempts at proto-economic nationalism in early 19th century Poland and Latin America as well as links between economic nationalism and the emergence of integral...

The recent economic crisis, and the challenges to democracy in an increasingly globalized world, brings into sharp relief the importance of mass communication. This volume explores a range of issues, from the nature of communication, to the role of the media industry, to the way that mass communication has facilitated social movements in many parts of the world. Revisiting the works of Karl Marx and others, the essays bring a new perspective and a renewed interest in critical analyses of communication practices globally. This collection represents the cutting edge of communication research...

Mobilizing Public Sociology, coedited by Victoria Carty and Rafael Luévano, combines theory and scholarly perspectives with a grassroots approach to challenges that Latin@ immigrants face in the United States. Public sociology calls for scholars and community activists and practitioners to engage in dialogue and to work together in the struggle for social justice. The contributors to this collection—scholars, immigrants, practitioners, and community activists—share their scholarly perspectives and personal experiences on a wide range of issues related to immigration, including...

In Identifying a Free Society Milan Zafirovski offers a holistic sociological approach to modern free society as a total social system. The book examines the main conditions and indicators of modern free society such as democracy, a free economy, a free culture, and a free civil society, hence political, economic, cultural, and individual liberty entwined with equality and justice. It provides specific and aggregate free-society estimates for Western and related societies based on a variety of objective rankings, data, and reports. On the basis of these estimates, the book identifies...

As the economic crash of 2007-8 and its sequels developed, neoliberal economists often said that economic theory can never cope with such eruptions, and left-minded economists and political economists struggled to find answers. This book documents discussions as they developed; an introduction and an afterword tell the story of the crisis, and offer syntheses and angles on some of the debated issues. What were the chief imbalances in the world economy? Is US hegemony breaking down? Were falling profit rates at the root of the crash, and if so why were they falling? How does "financialisation"...

Technological progress in the 21st Century still remains monopolized by the developed countries, thereby determining the direction and rhythm of growth in developing countries which must import their technological infrastructure. This colonialized model of industrialization leads to a perpetual outflow of resources abroad and to structured social exclusion that placed narrow limits on democracy and the distribution of overall wellbeing. Why did Latin American societies fail to create an internal division of labour that could adequately provide for the development of productive forces? How did...

In Ali Shariati and the Future of Social Theory: Religion, Revolution and the Role of the Intellectual, Dustin J. Byrd and Seyed Javad Miri bring together a collections of essays by a variety of scholars who explore the lasting influence of the Iranian sociologist and revolutionary, Ali Shariati. Thought to be the most important intellectual behind the Iranian Revolution of 1979, these essays engage in a future-oriented remembrance of Shariati’s life and praxis, with the practical attempt to clarify, expand, and apply his liberational Islamic thought to modern conditions. Making use of...

The Cooperativism and Democracy, edited by Bartłomiej Błesznowski is not purely a scientific book, but rather a guide which shows how scholars and activists wrote about the community, social participation and the politics in Poland in the early 20th century. The book contains a selection of texts in socio-political thought, led by the work of one of most important Polish thinkers – Edward Abramowski, socialist, philosopher and psychologist. Polish cooperativism can be inspiring to both contemporary researchers and political activists in Europe post the economic crisis, which brought about...