Description: The Active Society, published in 1968, is the most ambitious book in Amitai Etzioni's remarkable career. In this new collection of essays, Wilson Carey McWilliams brings together scholars in a range of disciplines to analyze the significance and shortcomings of this important work.
Review Quotes:
"Credit must be given to the editor...for having assembled a talented team of sociological archaeologists..." --Edward A. Tiryakian, Duke University, American Journal of Sociology
"The Active Society Revisited strikes me as a beautifully composed collection of excellent articles. It starts off with a number of articles that constructively criticize the social theoretical argument underlying The Active Society; it then presents a number of articles dealing critically with the attainability and desirability of the active society, interspersed with articles addressing the moral philosophical position of The Active Society. This is then followed by a number of articles presenting some constructive applications of Etzioni's ideas; and the book concludes with a contemplative article and Etzioni's response. It is a beautiful composition." --Reinoud Bosch