The Moral Commonwealth - (Centennial Books) by Philip Selznick (Paperback)

About the Book

"An outstanding accomplishment. This masterful result of a life-long study of social sciences, social philosophy, and ethics yields a book no student of our social or moral foundation, condition, and hence future, can afford to miss."--Amitai Etzioni, author of the Moral Dimension

Book Synopsis

Philip Selznick's study of moral and social theory establishes the intellectual foundations of an important new movement in American thought: communitarianism. Emerging in part as a response to the excesses of American individualism - particularly rampant during the 1980s - communitarianism seeks to restore the balance between individual rights and social responsibilities. The Moral Commonwealth attempts to explain and justify this communitarian turn and give it a liberal interpretation.

From the Back Cover

'The remarkable thesis of Philip Selznick's 'The Moral Commonwealth' is that we have the materials to resolve our moral uneasiness ready at hand....By taking a fresh look at the social thought of our time, by seeing it in the context of longer continuities, we can retrieve and restore a worthy idea of the human good.' - Charles W. Anderson, author of 'Pragmatic Liberalism'

About the Author

Philip Selznick is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of California at Berkeley.