The sexual revolution: an evocative term, but what meaning can be given to it today? How does "sexuality" come into being, and what connections does it have with the changes that have affected personal life more generally? In answering these questions, the author disputes many of the dominant interpretations of the role of sexuality in modern culture. The author suggests that the revolutionary changes in which sexuality has become cauth up are more long-term than generally conceded. He sees them as intrinsic to the development of modern societies as a whole and to the broad characteristics of...

This new edition of a standard work-used as a text throughout the world-has been thoroughly re-edited and revised. In it Giddens tells how he believes social theory should be constructed and conducted and offers a critique of schools of social thought that continues to occupy a place in contemporary debates.

“ The author, a noted sociologist at Cambridge University, begins by critiquing the relevance of socialism, neoliberalism, and conservatism for a world characterized by globalization, the abandonment of tradition, and pervasive uncertainty stemming from socially manufactured risk. . . . The book contains useful insights into the difficulties of the welfare state.” — Choice

This book is built upon a series of critical encounters with major figures in classical and present-day social and political thought. The volume offers not only a challenging critique of major traditions of social and political analysis, but unique insights into the ideas which Anthony Giddens had developed over the past two decades.

Built upon a series of critical encounters with major figures in classical and present-day social and political thought, this volume offers not only a critique of major traditions of social and political analysis, but insights into the ideas which the author has developed over the past two decades. It therefore serves as a comprehensive introduction to some of the main debates preoccupying the social sciences and politics.

How should one understand the nature and possibilities of political radicalism? The political radical is normally thought of as someone who stands on the Left, opposing backward-looking conservatism. In the 1990s, however, the Left has turned defensive, while the Right has become radical, advocating the free play of market forces no matter what obstacles of tradition or custom stand in their way. What explains such a curious twist of perspective?

What, if anything, is valid in Marx's work today, following the events of 1989 and after in Eastern Europe? The second edition of this highly regarded critical encounter with historical materialism and other major perspectives in social thought, shows how a critical theory of the advanced societies can still draw on marxism - if only sparingly - and remains an endeavour of fundamental importance in the social sciences at the present time.

The Giddens Reader contains a comprehensive selection of readings from the works of the pre-eminent social theorist Anthony Giddens. A wide range of important theoretical issues are covered, including the author's encounter with the writings of Marx, Durkheim, Weber, Parsons and Foucault. The 'Reader' also presents elaborations of Giddens' own innovative approach to the fundamental questions of social theory. His views on power, time-space and the relationship between action and structure are well represented, as are his highly illuminating analyses of the 'late modern age'. The...

The idea of finding a 'third way' in politics has become a focus of discussion across the world. Political leaders, in the US, Europe, Asia and Latin America claim to be following its principles. Yet the notion has also attracted much criticism. Some say it is an empty concept without any real content. Critics from the more traditional left argue that it is a betrayal of left-wing ideals.


Anthony Giddens's The Third Way (Polity Press, 1998) is regarded by many as the key text of third way politics. Translated into twenty-five languages, it has shaped the development of...

Is there a future for sociology? To many, sociology seems to have lost its way. Born of the ideas of Auguste Comte in the nineteenth century, sociology established itself as 'the science of modernity', linked to a progressive view of history. Yet today the idea of progress has more or less collapsed; with its demise, some say, sociological thought has moved to the margins of contemporary intellectual culture.

In this book the author challenges such an interpretation, showing that sociology continues to hold a central position within the social sciences. Looking both to the past...